Amazon Reports 2008 Best Holiday Season Ever

In a rare bright spot for the retail industry, Amazon.com announced the 2008 holiday season finished as its best ever, with over 6.3 million items ordered worldwide on the peak day, Dec. 15, which is a record-breaking 72.9 items per second.

"We are extremely grateful to our customers," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "We wish everyone happy holidays and the very best for the coming year." MORE>>

Personally I bought several gifts from Amazon this year and had them shipped directly to my home. Items over $25 were shipped for free, which no doubt bit into Amazon's profits but increased sales overall.

image: Martin Oeser/AFP via Business Week