Holiday Projected Sales Promise Boom for Amazon.com, Borders, and UPS

Recent sales figures of popular book titles, holiday shipping offers, and predictions from the National Retail Federation and Internet research firm eMarketer indicate a substantial increase in fourth quarter e-commerce sales for recently extended Amazon.com and Borders partnership. Continued climbing sales are forecasted for "My Fractured Life" and "The Five People You Meet in Heaven", with 50,000 additional positions required at UPS to meet holiday shipping associated with e-commerce boom.

LOS ANGELES, CA (PRWEB) December 5, 2003 -- The National Retail Federation is predicting an overall increase in holiday sales of 5.7 percent this year, compared with 2.2 percent last year. According to eMarketer, an Internet research firm, online sales in the fourth quarter are expected to rise by 29 percent this year over last year.

Figures released December 3, 2003 by Amazon.com for the month of November show a 392 percent increase in sales of the popular novel "My Fractured Life" by entertainer Rikki Lee Travolta.

The Travolta book is ranked in the Top 10 Featured Entertainer Biographies by the world e-commerce leader.

The December sales increase continues an upward climb of 455 percent from September to October.

On November 30, the Poughkeepsie Journal reported that Amazon.com and Borders Books and Music have entered into a multiyear extension of their e-commerce agreement. The two year old partnership allows in-store pickup nationwide of "My Fractured Life" and related titles ordered online at either Amazon.com or Borders.com.

Borders president Tami Heim stated that the partnership has resulted in ''a dramatic increase in sales through co-branded sites with no incremental marketing investment.''

Reviews at Amazon.com tie "My Fractured Life" with New York Times bestselling fiction title "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom, Pulitzer Prize winner "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides, American Bookseller Association Award winner "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand, and "Pleasure of My Company" by entertainer Steve Martin.

"My Fractured Life" is the stirring account of a promising artist whose life is cut short by suicide, as told from the point of view of the childhood friend who discovers the body. Travolta defined the titled role in "Tony n' Tina's Wedding" around the globe, making it the longest running stage comedy in history. In 2002 he became the first member of his family to perform the role of Danny Zuko in "Grease" in over 25 years.

According to The International Herald Tribune, online shopping is expected to grow faster this holiday season than it has since the peak of the Internet frenzy in 2000.

The surge in online holiday purchases coincides with the public's comfort level with quality control standards by established e-commerce retailers such as Amazon.com.

"We're past the point where people are testing online to see if it is safe and reliable," said Chris Bruzzo, a spokesman for Amazon.com.

For a limited time, Travolta's "My Fractured Life" is being offered at 20% off by Amazon.com to holiday shoppers. Sales in groupings with other book titles, CDs, and DVD movies, allows customers to take advantage of Amazon.com's free shipping program for holiday gift purchases over $25.

According to a December 2, Biz Report article, UPS will hire 50,000 seasonal workers this year and project to deliver 20 million packages on its peak holiday delivery day -- December 18.

Spokesperson Traci Barnett stated that FedEx is also seeing an increase in online shipping activity this holiday season. UPS and FedEx are both utilizing internal technology to expedite the delivery process. According to Barnett, 2 million customers a day track packages at FedEx.com

According to ComScore Networks, Web-based sales over the Thanksgiving holiday were significantly up as well. Single day sales for November 28, excluding auctions and travel sales, totaled $200 million, up 38 percent from the previous year.
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