Amazon says more than 5 billion items were shipped with Prime in 2017

Amazon.com Inc. said that more than five billion items were shipped using Prime membership in 2017, which includes unlimited free two-day shipping. Among the Prime member favorites that showed up on the 2017 Best of Prime list for the U.S. were "The Handmaid's Tale" on Prime Reading, the Fire TV Stick and Echo Dot, and "The Grand Tour" on Prime Video. Dec. 30 was the biggest day for Prime's streaming service around the world, with "The Grand Tour" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" the top shows. Instant Pot was the most gifted item on the Amazon Wedding Registry. And Amazon's fulfillment and shipping network grew in square footage by more than 30% around the globe in 2017. Amazon shares are up 57.4% for the past year, outpacing the S&P 500 index's 20% growth for the period.

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