Amazon said that customers ordered 34.4 million items across the world during its Prime Day sale. The Seattle based company said that this year’s record broke last year's Black Friday sale.

The company also stated that several new members also tried its US$99-per-year Prime service on the day of the sale, with The Lord of the Rings movie box sets proving the most sought-after product.

It was found that some limited-period deals were offered on a long list of items ranging from microfiber towels to televisions and robotic vacuum cleaners.

As per sources, seller who uses Amazon's fulfillment services reported a 300% rise in their unit sale. One of the vendor said he made US$16,000 (RM60,900) per hour.

Amazon said in a statement that the highest-selling items in Japan were the Green smoothie mixes, while Canadians used the day to stock up on Huggies diapers, and the Monopoly board game was France's favorite product.

Apart from the plus points, the company faced criticism on social media from some customers who were disappointed by the speed at which offers ended and the lack of blockbuster discounts.

In addition, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, also launched a three-month sale to counter Amazon, which has emerged as a serious competitor in the past few years.

On the first day of the Wal-Mart’s sale the retailer saw a triple digit jump in its orders as compared to the same day a year earlier. Higher demands were for Apple Inc'siPad Air and FitBitInc's Charge HR, the company said in an e-mail.