Bezos told shareholders in Seattle that if had known how successful the initiative to offer free shipping on orders larger than $25 (拢15.19) in the US and 拢39 in the UK would have been, the company would have launched its Free Super Saver Delivery earlier.
Bezos told shareholders that the move to introduce free shipping was the most surprising development. He said that while the programme has been expensive to set up, Amazon would reap the benefit for years.
"Rightly, shareholders could complain the company should have done it sooner," Bezos said addressing shareholders.
Evidence seems to suggest that Amazon customers spend more on each visit, topping up their purchase to ensure that they get free shipping. Instead of buying a single CD, they are instead buying two or three.
Amazon does not break down sales by territory, but Bezos told investors that the online store, which has branched out from books and music to travel and kitchen and home products, was seeing particularly strong sales in Germany and the UK.
Amazon.com is on course to report sales growth in 2003 of more than 19% to around $4.7bn.
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