Amazon retail growth boosted by grocery & AI shopping

Amazon reported continued growth across its retail operations during the second quarter, with gains in product selection, grocery, pharmacy, same-day delivery and AI-powered shopping tools.

The company said it added millions of products to its catalogue, including more than 700,000 items from established brands. It also expanded the range of products available through Amazon Haul in the United States by nearly 20 times since launch, with more than six million products now priced below USD $10.

Amazon said customers continued to respond to its pricing strategy during Prime Day, with more than 80% of deals offered at their lowest price of the year and hundreds of thousands of products discounted by at least 40%.

Grocery growth

Amazon said it remains the second-largest grocery retailer in the United States and reported continued growth across both perishable and non-perishable categories.

The number of monthly active customers purchasing perishable groceries increased by more than 50% since the beginning of the year. Orders containing perishable goods through its same-day delivery service averaged more than three times as many items per order, while fresh groceries accounted for six of the 20 best-selling products on Amazon's online store.

The company also reported growth in its pharmacy business. It said the number of new Amazon Pharmacy customers more than doubled during the first six months of the year, while same-day prescription deliveries increased nearly fivefold.

Amazon added that it had saved customers almost USD $250 million in out-of-pocket prescription costs during the year to date. The company said this represented an increase of more than 400% compared with the same period a year earlier.

"We added millions of new products to our selection, including over 700,000 from notable brands. We've also expanded ultra-low-priced selection on Amazon Haul in the U.S. by nearly 20x since launch, and now have over six million items priced under $10," said Andy Jassy, Chief Executive Officer, Amazon.

Faster delivery

Amazon said it achieved its fastest delivery performance during the first half of the year.

The company said it now offers millions of products eligible for Prime same-day delivery, representing up to 40 times the selection typically available in a large retail store. It also reported that worldwide deliveries completed on the same day or overnight increased by more than 40% during the first six months of the year compared with the same period last year.

Amazon continued expanding its Amazon Now service, which provides delivery in 30 minutes or less for thousands of everyday products. During the quarter, the company introduced the service to 80 additional cities and towns across the United States, as well as several major cities in Egypt.

Amazon Now is now available in nine countries and more than 250 cities and towns globally. The company said gross sales and units sold through the service increased by more than 80% quarter on quarter, while the number of customers served rose by more than 60%.

Amazon also launched Amazon Supply Chain Services, allowing businesses to use its logistics network for transportation, warehousing and product delivery. The company said customers already include Procter & Gamble, 3M, Lands' End and American Eagle Outfitters.

AI shopping

Amazon said AI remains a growing part of its retail strategy through shopping features integrated into its online store.

The company reported that more than 350 million customers used Alexa for Shopping during the past 12 months. The AI shopping assistant provides personalised recommendations, product comparisons, price history information, price alerts and automated purchasing features.

Amazon said active Alexa for Shopping users nearly doubled during the second quarter, while customer interactions increased more than fivefold compared with the previous year.

The company also expanded Amazon Lens, its visual search tool that enables customers to photograph products and find similar items on Amazon, into 10 additional countries. Amazon Lens is now available in 21 countries.

"Customers love Alexa for Shopping, our agentic AI shopping assistant. It offers personalized recommendations, product comparisons, price history, and the ability to automate shopping through features like Price Alerts and Auto-Buy. Over 350 million customers have used it in the last 12 months, and engagement accelerated in Q2, with active users nearly doubling, and interactions up over 5x year-over-year," said Jassy.