Amazon third-party sales soar 40% on Cyber Monday

Amazon sold more than 23m items for third parties on a single day in November, as its Cyber Monday offers reaped growth of 40% on the previous year.

The US online retail colossus said this capped off a year when it helped its third-party sellers ship more than 1bn items.

Numbers of Amazon's global active sellers that use the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service grew more than 50% year-over-year, it said, with cross-border sellers using FBA more than doubling on 2014.

Over the holiday season, eight out of ten online shoppers buying physical items on Amazon purchased at least one product from third-party individuals and businesses selling on Amazon.

"Businesses of all sizes can easily reach millions of customers around the world,” said Peter Faricy, VP for Amazon Marketplace.

He added that sellers added more new selection and shipped more items than in any previous year.