Online retail giant Amazon saw a 23% increase in global sales in the first quarter of 2017, the company has announced.
The firm reported net sales of more than 35.7 billion dollars (£27.6bn) for the three months ending March 31, up from 29.1 billion (£22.5bn) for the same period last year.
The figures were higher than analysts predicted ahead of the announcement, which also included a net income rise from of more than 200 million dollars (£155m) on the same quarter last year, to 724 million dollars (£561m).
Amazon has greatly expanded from its online retail roots in recent years, launching the Amazon Echo smart speaker in the UK last year, while earlier this year its original movie Manchester By The Sea won three Academy Awards, including best actor for Casey Affleck.
The company now also rivals Netflix for TV and movie streaming services, through its Amazon Fire TV line of streaming products.
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