Amazon.com’s net sales increased 27% to $61.09 billion for the year ending Dec. 31, compared with $48.08 billion in 2011. Excluding the $854 million unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the year, net sales grew 29% compared with 2011.
Amazon yesterday also released its fourth-quarter net sales, which increased 22% to $21.27 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $17.43 billion in fourth quarter 2011. Excluding the $178 million unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales grew 23% compared with fourth quarter 2011.
In a press release, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said the company is “now seeing the transition we’ve been expecting.”
In short, sales of the Kindle reader and of ebooks is fueling the merchant’s growth. Bezos said the sale of ebooks alone was up 70% for the year. In contrast, the sale of physical books grew just 5% year-over-year.
Earlier this month, Amazon.com said that 2012 was a record-breaking holiday season for businesses selling on Amazon. Third-party sellers on Amazon in the U.S. experienced record holiday growth of more than 40% year-over-year.