Amazon says more than 300 million items sold during Prime Day

A worker sorts out parcels in the outbound dock at Amazon fulfillment center in Eastvale, California on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021.

Amazon shoppers bought more than 300 million items during this year's Prime Day sale, making it the largest event in the company's history.

According to the company, Prime members worldwide purchased more than 100,000 items per minute during the two day event. Consumer electronics, home goods and Amazon- branded devices were the top sellers in the U.S.

At a time when consumers are being squeezed by inflation, the event came at a good time. Frito-Lay snack packs were among the top purchased items this year, with shoppers reaching for necessities over luxuries.

More than half of Prime Day purchases were for items under $20, according to a survey.

The prospect of higher prices didn't seem to damper consumer enthusiasm around Prime Day and other discount events run by competing retailers During Amazon's Prime day event, online retail sales in the US reached $11.9 billion. Overall e- commerce transactions generated during last year's event were 8.5% higher than this year's.

Amazon Live was called out by the company. The company did not say how many views Prime Day had compared to last year. According to Amazon, thousands of users hosted live streams.

Demand for deals becomes more important as inflation continues.