Amazon’s net sales increased by 40% year-on-year (y-o-y) to $88.9 billion in Q2 2020, as shoppers across the globe moved to online retail channels during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its operating cash flow rose by 42% y-o-y to $51.2 billion, and its operating income doubled.

The tech giant used this period to pursue newly relevant avenues related to COVID-19 lockdowns. For example, it expanded its grocery delivery capacity by over 160% and tripled its grocery pick-up location, and successfully tripled its online grocery sales over the quarter (compared with the same period last year).

In Q2 Amazon released a range of new tech products, making the smart speaker Echo Auto and its eero mesh Wi-Fi systems available in Australia and other key markets.

In the content space, Prime Video launched ‘Watch Parties’, enabling members to interact with loved ones via chat or on desktop while watching with loved ones, and Prime Video Profiles, which allows users to create individual profiles on an account, as Netflix does.

Source: Amazon Q2 Earnings Report

AWS is another key area for Amazon that has expanded significantly during the COVID-19 crisis. Zoom, for example, uses AWS to host a significant portion of its network.

Looking ahead, Amazon has forecast operating income to range $2-5 billion in Q3, and expects costs related to COVID-19 to total more than $2 billion.

According to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the company spent $4 billion on COVID-related costs in the second quarter.