Yesterday Amazon announced that its 21^st holiday season was record-breaking, adding more than three million new Prime members worldwide in the third week of December alone. In addition, Amazon boasted that this was the biggest holiday ever for Amazon devices, selling more than two times the number of devices last year, and more than 200 million more items shipped for free with Prime this holiday season.

Other highlights include:

• Season 1 of The Man in the High Castle was the most watched TV season on Prime Video this holiday season by four-and-a-half-times, doubling total viewing hours compared to 2014. The pilot for the series was originally released on January 15. The following month the series was picked up for a 10-episode season, and the remaining nine episodes were released on November 20. It will release a second season in 2016.
• Prime Now had its busiest day ever on Christmas Eve. Prime Now is Amazon’s free two-hour delivery service available in 20 metro areas.
• The new Fire tablet was the best-selling, most gifted and most wished-for product across Amazon.com. It was introduced 15 weeks ago.
• Amazon shipped to 185 countries this year.
• Nearly 70% of Amazon customers shopped using a mobile device.
• On Cyber Monday, Amazon sold one Adele CD every three seconds.

“This was another great holiday season to be a Prime member, and we welcomed three million new members in the third week of December alone,” said Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “Over 200 million more items shipped for free with Prime this holiday, and members doubled their viewing hours of Prime Video compared to last year with the Amazon Original Series The Man in the High Castle leading the way as the most watched TV season ever on Prime Video. On behalf of Amazon employees around the world, we wish everyone happy holidays and the very best for the coming year.”

For $99 a year, Prime members get free two-day shipping on eligible items; free same-day delivery in eligible zip codes; unlimited streaming of TV and movies; unlimited, ad-free access to more than a million songs; unlimited, secure, online storage for photos; and more.

In addition to these holiday highlights, Amazon has had a newsworthy year all around:

• In December, Amazon announced it would partner with cable networks like Showtime to make them accessible to Prime members from one central hub.
• In November, Amazon pulled Apple TV products from its online marketplace, and it launched its first brick-and-mortar store in Seattle.
• In September, Amazon announced that Amazon Fire TV has more channels, apps and games than any other streaming media player.
• In July, Amazon launched Prime Now, a one-hour delivery service, in London while adding Prime Now to additional U.S. cities, like San Diego, while adding restaurant and local delivery in other cities, like Chicago, Portland and Los Angeles.

Insider Take:

It is interesting that Amazon is releasing its membership statistics selectively. To date, the company has been reluctant to release membership totals. In its announcement yesterday, it said Amazon Prime has tens of millions of members worldwide. A survey released in September estimates that Amazon has as many as 50 million Prime members in the U.S. alone, and 60 million to 80 million globally, reported GeekWire.

We wonder how many of these new Prime memberships are paid memberships versus how many are promotional sign-ups. Last month, for example, Sprint offered a free one-year Prime membership to customers who upgraded or added a service. Regardless of how Prime users became members, the Prime membership is a good deal, especially for those who shop online.

Amazon isn’t doing this unselfishly though. Jeff Bezos and company are smart to make Amazon.com the “go to” place for online shopping and entertainment. By offering services beyond free shipping, the company is solidifying its relationship, turning occasional customers into loyal members who turn to Amazon for many useful products and services. In many ways, Amazon.com is one-stop-shopping at its best.

The Prime membership is a bargain at $99, and it provides Amazon with a steady revenue stream beyond retail shopping profits. It will also help Amazon maintain customer loyalty as other players like Jet.com and Wal-Mart try to get a piece of the action – a lesson all subscription companies can learn from. Draw customers in with attractive core products and services, and keep them by offering them so many features and benefits that it will be hard to leave.