Amazon breaks holiday sales record again, aided by Alexa voice purchases

TwitterFacebook

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, especially if you’re Amazon.

In a press release Wednesday, the e-commerce giant announced its strongest holiday season in the company’s history. According to Amazon, more items were ordered from the company during this year’s holiday shopping season than ever before.

Amazon said in the U.S., more than one billion items were shipped by the company for free through its Amazon Prime service. The company also said that tens of million people started an Amazon Prime trial or subscription this holiday season in order to take full advantage of the free, fast, and last minute shipping options. The final Prime Now delivery before December 25 was on Christmas Eve at 11:30pm in Berkeley, Calif. Read more…

More about Amazon, Christmas, Ecommerce, Alexa, and Holiday Shopping

View More Amazon breaks holiday sales record again, aided by Alexa voice purchases

How to be an ethical-ish holiday shopper when every option is bad

TwitterFacebook

At this point, it should be pretty clear no form of holiday shopping is good for the world. 

Sure, there are exceptions to the rule. I’m pretty confident that purchasing lemonade from your neighborhood child-led not-for-profit lemonade stand is safe, assuming those lemons were procured locally by unionized farm workers and those children are paid a living (5 dimes an hour) wage. 

Other than that, the options are limited. That doesn’t mean you can’t shop — but instead of following “the do no harm” method, you might need to follow the “do the least amount of harm” school of thought.

More about Shopping, Culture, Social Good, Holiday Shopping, and Culture

View More How to be an ethical-ish holiday shopper when every option is bad

What type of tech gift-giver are you?

TwitterFacebook

In 2018, it’s a safe bet that several items on your loved ones’ holiday wish lists come in telltale rectangular boxes and include chargers. If you want to be remembered as a thoughtful gift-giver, you simply can’t go wrong with the digital device route. Thankfully, Best Buy is here to lend a hand when it comes to selecting the perfect tech accessory for that special someone.

This year, instead of fretting over the various “buckets” of recipients — “the golf aficionado” or “the frequent traveler” — take a moment to consider your own style of gift-giving. Selecting a present that’s uniquely “you” is a surefire way to stand out from the crowd this season. Read more…

More about Supported, Holiday, Best Buy, Gift Guide, and Holiday Shopping

View More What type of tech gift-giver are you?

The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on all of Amazon this holiday season

 The holiday shopping season is finally over and that means Amazon has some shopping data for us. This holiday season, Amazon’s Echo Dot was the top-selling Amazon device, as well as the top-selling product available from any manufacturer across all categories on Amazon.com, with millions sold. Meanwhile, Amazon’s newer Alexa-enabled devices, the Echo Spot, Echo Dot and Echo… Read More

View More The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on all of Amazon this holiday season

9 gift ideas for the science geek in your life

TwitterFacebook

Heads up: All products featured here are selected by Mashable’s commerce team and meet our rigorous standards for awesomeness. If you buy something, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.

If you’re gifting to a Bill Nye protégé this holiday season, check out these gifts that will cause any science geek’s neurotransmitter dopamine levels to rise. (That’s geek talk for “love.”)

Add a dash of NaCl

Know anyone with a background in chemistry — or anyone with an unorganized, overflowing spice rack? The Chemist’s Spice Rack might be right up their alley. House spices in test tubes and lab flasks to make cooking feel like a grand experiment. Let’s just hope it doesn’t taste like one. Read more…

More about Nasa, Science, Gift Ideas, Periodic Table, and Holiday Shopping

View More 9 gift ideas for the science geek in your life

Hold on to your (Santa) hat: ‘Christmas Christmas’ is the 2017 holiday album you need

TwitterFacebook

They’ve played over 5,000 shows. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They were cool in 1977. Their lead guitar player owns over 400 quirky guitars. They can do whatever they want.

So this year, at the urging of their record label, power pop rockers Cheap Trick decided to release a Christmas album, Christmas Christmas

2017 has seen no shortage of underwhelming holiday albums released by the likes of Hanson, 98 Degrees, and Gwen Stefani. But with Christmas Christmas, these quirky rockers — famous for tunes like “Surrender” and “I Want You to Want Me” — didn’t simply release a Christmas album. Rather, they blasted out a traditionally vibrant Cheap Trick album… but with Christmas-themed songs.  Read more…

More about Music, Rock And Roll, Holiday Shopping, Christmas Music, and Holidays 2017

View More Hold on to your (Santa) hat: ‘Christmas Christmas’ is the 2017 holiday album you need

Cold weather doesn’t have to stop your love for grilling — this indoor BBQ is $53 off today

TwitterFacebook

Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission.

Missing that warm, perfect for grilling, stays light out until 8pm weather? Because same.

Get the taste of summer BBQs even in the winter with this indoor electric barbecue plate that’s $53 off right now.

Whether you’re the BBQ enthusiast or just looking for a great gift idea, you can’t go wrong with the Excelvan Indoor Electric Plate Barbecue. With an impressively large 15×10 cooking surface, it’s large enough to grill lots of things all at once. Unlike many outdoor grills, this one has a non-stick coating and makes for super simple clean-up — crusted-on grease is one thing you won’t miss from those outdoor cookouts. Read more…

More about Cooking, Gift Ideas, Cooking Gadget, Holiday Gift Guide, and Holiday Shopping

View More Cold weather doesn’t have to stop your love for grilling — this indoor BBQ is $53 off today

You can give your loved ones the gift of flight this holiday season, no wings or ticket required

TwitterFacebook

Every little kid dreams of flying. Not in an airplane, but real flying. Maybe like a superhero with one arm thrust forward, or a bird, soaring over trees and lakes. 

Turns out dreams can come true; with some smart tech. DJI has paired its Mavic Pro drone with a first-person view headset — the DJI Goggles, for an immersive flying experience that will satisfy tech enthusiasts and outdoorsy types this holiday season. 

When the Goggles first launched in May, they sold out on the DJI website in three hours. But DJI has restocked them just in time for Black Friday, at $449. 

Here’s what the Mavic+Goggles combination offers that makes it a great gift for someone special. Read more…

More about Supported, Gifts, Holiday, Holiday Shopping, and Holidays 2017

View More You can give your loved ones the gift of flight this holiday season, no wings or ticket required