Last year’s Prime Day was described by the online giant as the “biggest in history” as members of the subscription service – there are more than 100 million of them – splashed out on special offers. This year the promotion ran for two days for the first time.

Prime is an example of the way Amazon has deployed technology to take customer expectations to new heights – in this instance, same-day delivery of millions of products.

While Amazon is the epitome of technological innovation and disruption in retail, it is perhaps the relentless single-mindedness of purpose with which it has put technology to use that really matters.