Amazon's total revenue increased successively during the 4-year period 2010-2013. Sales grew 22%, 27%, 41%, and 40% in 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010 compared to the comparable prior year periods. According to the company the changes in currency exchange rates impacted net sales by $(1.3) billion, $(854) million, $1.1 billion, and $(86) million for 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010. Amazon's revenue comes from three primary sectors: media, electronics and other general merchandise (EGM), and others, which include co-branded credit cards, fulfillment operations, and Amazon Web Services. The increase in Amazon's revenue between 2010 and 2013 is primarily driven by the EGM sector, which accounts 66%, 63%, 60%, and 54% of total revenue in 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010. The EGM sector revenue increased from $18,363,000 to $48,802,000 between 2010 and 2013, a total of 268% growth. The above chart shows the overall revenue growth, dividing it into the three sectors, during this time period. Amazon organized their operations into two segments: North America and International. According to the company, they present the segment information along the same lines that Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos reviews the operating results in assessing performance and allocating resources. Amazon's North America segment is steadily increasing. As shown in the above chart, the trend line in this business segment is pointing upwards, which is a good sign. This tells that the revenue coming from Amazon's North America segment is stable and keeps increasing year after year. Sales in this segment grew 28%, 30%, 43%, and 46% in 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010, compared to the comparable prior year periods. The International segment is also in good position; it keeps increasing the revenue it produces over the periods. But unlike the North America segment, International segment growth rate somehow slowed down starting in year 2012. International sales grew 14%, 23%, 38%, and 33% in 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010, compared to the comparable prior year periods. According to the Company, the sales growth of two business segments in each year primarily reflects increased unit sales, including sales by marketplace sellers. The increased unit sales were driven largely by Amazon's continued efforts to reduce prices for their customers, including from shipping offers, by sales in faster growing categories such as electronics and other general merchandise, by increased in-stock inventory availability, and by increased selection of product offerings. Cost of Sales Amazon's cost of sales consists of the purchase price of consumer products and digital content including Prime Instant Video, inbound and outbound shipping charges, and packaging supplies. The increase in cost of sales for the analyzed period 2010 to 2013 is primarily due to increased product, digital content, and shipping costs resulting from increased sales, as well as from Amazon's expansion of digital offerings. Fulfillment The Amazon fulfillment costs represent those costs incurred in operating and staffing Amazon's fulfillment and customer service centers, including costs attributable to buying, receiving, inspecting, and warehousing inventories; picking, packaging, and preparing customer orders for shipment; payment processing and related transaction costs; responding to inquiries from customers; and supply chain management for Company's manufactured electronic devices. Fulfillment costs is said to vary due to several factors, such as payment processing and related transaction costs, and changes in volume, size, and weight of units received and fulfilled. The increase in fulfillment costs for the analyzed periods 2010 through 2013 is primarily due to variable costs corresponding with increased physical and digital product and services sales volume, inventory levels, and sales mix; costs from expanding fulfillment capacity; and payment processing and related transaction costs. According to Amazon, the company seeks to expand its fulfillment capacity to accommodate greater selection and in-stock inventory levels and meet anticipated shipment volumes from sales of its own products as well as sales by third parties for which the company provides the fulfillment services. Marketing Amazon's marketing costs consist primarily of targeted online advertising, television advertising, public relations expenditures, and payroll and related expenses for personnel engaged in marketing, business development, and selling activities. The advertising and other promotional costs of Amazon are expensed as incurred and were $2.4 billion, $2.0 billion, and $1.4 billion in 2013, 2012, and 2011. According to Amazon, they direct customers to their websites primarily through a number of targeted online marketing channels, such as our Associates program,