Amazon is gaining ground after reporting a 'record-breaking' holiday season (AMZN)

Jeff Bezos

Amazon on Wednesday announced a "record-breaking" holiday season, sending shares up as much as 2.07% before the opening bell.
The e-commerce giant said it shipped more than one billion items with through its Prime service in the US alone, and attracted tens of millions of people worldwide to start using Prime.
This year's robust holiday-shopping season has given retailers much to cheer about, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse industry data.
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Amazon was up as much as 2.07% to $1,362.90 a share early Wednesday after the company announced a "record-breaking" holiday season with more items ordered worldwide than ever before.

The online retailer says it shipped more than one billion items with through its Prime membership service in the US alone, and attracted tens of millions of people worldwide to start Prime free trials or begin paid memberships.

"This season was our best yet, and we look forward to continuing to bring our customers what they want, in ways most convenient for them in 2019," said Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon's Worldwide Consumer in a statement.

"Thank you to our employees all around the world who are committed to bringing our customers the widest selection of products with low prices and fast and free delivery options throughout the holidays and all year long."

This year's robust holiday-shopping season has given retailers much to cheer about, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which provides insights into overall retail spending trends across all payment types.

From November 1 through December 24, holiday sales increased 5.1% to more than $850 billion this year – the strongest growth in the last six years — and online shopping saw a whopping gain of 19.1% compared to 2017, data from Mastercard SpendingPulse show.

"By combining the right inventory with the right mix of online versus in-store, many retailers were able to give consumers what they wanted via the right shopping channels," said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard.

Amazon was up 14.8% this year.