Spencer Soper

U.S. shoppers spent $9.4 billion online on Cyber Monday — up almost 20% from a year ago and a record — boosting an already robust holiday shopping season.

Ever since Amazon.com bought Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion, shoppers and investors have wondered how the e-commerce giant would integrate the upscale grocer into its sprawling online operation. Now, after two years of tinkering, Amazon is betting big on quick delivery from Whole Foods.

Internet searches for “Canceling Amazon Prime” were 18 times higher June 15 — the beginning of Amazon.com’s two-day sale — than the previous day, according to search engine monitoring firm Captify, suggesting shoppers did not want to make a long-term commitment to the giant online retailer.

Two months ago, Amazon halted orders from thousands of suppliers with no explanation. Panic ensued — until the orders quietly resumed weeks later, with Amazon suggesting the pause was part of a campaign to weed out counterfeit products.