Sales at Amazon increased by nine per cent to $127.4 billion in the first quarter of 2023 compared with $116.4 billion over the same period last year.

The online retailer said that nearly 26 million customers ordered items with same day delivery in quarter, which is an increase of 50 per cent compared with the previous year.

Sales in North America saw the biggest jump, rising by 11 per cent to $76.9 billion, with international sales increasing one per cent to $29.1 billion.

Amazon added that net income was $3.2 billion in the first quarter, compared with a net loss of $3.8 billion in the same period last year.

While sales at Amazon Web Services (AWS) increased by 16 per cent, Amazon said that customers were spending more cautiously. Sales for the segment were valued at $21.4 billion. Shares in Amazon fell by around four per cent after the news was announced.

The retailer added that it was expanding AWS in Malaysia and Australia to make cloud technology available in more regions.

“Our Stores business is continuing to improve the cost to serve in our fulfilment network while increasing the speed with which we get products into the hands of customers (we expect to have our fastest Prime delivery speeds ever in 2023),” said Andy Jassy, chief executive of Amazon.

He added: “Our Advertising business continues to deliver robust growth, largely due to our ongoing machine learning investments that help customers see relevant information when they engage with us, which in turn delivers unusually strong results for brands.”

Over 600 workers recently staged a three-day strike at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse over pay. The Amazon employees also plan to strike between 21 and 23 April, bringing the total number of strike days to 14.

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