Amazon gave the whole Web retail sector a nasty jolt last night when it admitted that Christmas could be rather less festive than expected.
The world's biggest online retailer cut its forecasts for fourth-quarter sales to between $6bn and $7bn – indicating that at worst it will see growth of just 6%. It said it has already seen slower sales in September as the crisis erupted.
Previously Amazon had been talking of pulling in $7.2bn, and the downward revision sent its shares tumbling by 14% last night, even though third-quarter sales jumped by 48%.
Wall Street was particularly concerned by the wide range of the estimate, suggesting that Amazon simply cannot tell how good or bad Christmas will be in the current economic climate, with many countries heading into recession.
E-commerce has enjoyed a run of bumper Christmases ever since the sector was first created. But with eBay having just reported its first ever drop in sales and cutting 1,000 jobs, it appears that the party may be over.
