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Inside An Amazon Fulfillment Center On Its Busiest Day Of The Year

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- If you've opened your email today, you probably already know it's Cyber Monday. Some experts think sales could be even bigger than on Black Friday.

Retail experts think this year could see over $6.5 billion in online sales for Cyber Monday, a new record. That's almost 17 percent more than last year.

Cyber Monday marks the busiest sales day for Amazon. Just the Amazon facility in Shakopee alone will ship out hundreds of thousands of products on Monday.

It's a massive facility of more than 850,000 square feet, about the size of 14 football fields.

"This is a great day at Amazon, absolutely," she said. "Last year's customers ordered $464 million in products worldwide on Cyber Monday, and that is 740 items per second, in fact we know this year, we'll be bigger than last year ..."

The center uses robots that run merchandise across a gridded, bar-coded floor.

"So machines are eliminating, frankly, the boring parts of the job," Law said. "So they're moving heavy things back and forth so that our employees don't have to carry heavy totes or push carts around. Instead, our employees can focus on tasks that make them more efficient, that are frankly more enjoyable jobs."

Efficiency is key at the fulfillment center.

"From the time I click on my order, to the time it's packed, to the time it goes out the door can be as quick as 13 minutes," she said.

It's pace they plan to keep up with a whole month of daily deals.

"Customers will actually be able to shop all through the holiday season, deals on amazon.com/cybermonday, literally everyday," Law said.

Amazon has really forced retailers to get more creative to come into their stores because the online retailer no longer just does Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals. They now offer daily deals that last the entire holiday season.

Still a ton of work goes into getting ready for the week.

"This season we call it peak. We plan for this all year," Amazon senior principal engineer John Darrow said. "Each year we hit new scales that are unprecedented for us. This is the test if everything will be successful."

For the first year ever, Adobe Digital Insights says web traffic shopping for smartphones and tablets is expected to surpass computers. The biggest discounts will likely be on toys.

Some of the big deals WCCO's Kate Raddatz spotted include a new Echo Dot from Amazon for $29.99. Best Buy is offering a $150 discount off an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus. Meanwhile, Target seems to have more department wide discounts, with 30 percent off kids clothing, and 15 percent off all orders.

The Shakopee center is hiring 1,000 people right now for holiday and permanent jobs.

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