Description of Business and Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) Segment	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number of principal segments | Segment	3
Allowance for returns	$ 153	$ 147	$ 167
Additions to allowance for returns	1,300	1,100	907
Deductions to allowance for returns	1,300	1,100	938
Advertising and other promotional costs	3,800	3,300	2,400
Foreign currency transaction gain (loss)	(266)	(127)	(137)
Marketable securities realized gain (loss)	(5)	3	(1)
Undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries that are indefinitely invested outside of the U.S	1,500
Accounts receivable, net and other	6,423	5,612
Allowance for doubtful accounts	189	190	153
Additions to allowance for doubtful accounts	289	225	172
Deductions to allowance for doubtful accounts	290	188	135
Capitalized costs associated with internal-use software and website development	642	641	581
Capitalized costs associated with internal-use software and website development, share-based compensation	114	104	87
Capitalized costs associated with internal-use software and website development, amortization of previously capitalized amounts	$ 635	559	451
Estimated useful lives of assets description	Depreciation is recorded on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets
Disclosure of Change of Date for Annual Goodwill Impairment Test	we changed the measurement date of our annual goodwill impairment test from October 1 to April 1
Reason for Change in Date of Annual Goodwill Impairment Test	We believe this timing better aligns the goodwill impairment test with our strategic business planning process, which is a key component of the goodwill impairment test.
Unredeemed gift certificates	$ 2,000	1,700
Unredeemed gift certificates, period of recognition	2 years
Transaction losses arising from foreign currency transactions	$ 215	98	$ 84
Current deferred tax assets	769
Current deferred tax liabilities	13
Vendor receivables
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Accounts receivable, net and other	1,800	1,400
Customer and seller receivables
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Accounts receivable, net and other	$ 2,600	$ 1,900
Internal-use software and website development
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	2 years
Building
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	40 years
Servers
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	3 years
Networking Equipment
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	5 years
Furniture and Fixtures
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	5 years
Heavy Equipment
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	10 years
Video and Music Content | Minimum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Video and music content licensing agreements term	1 year
Video and music content amortization period	6 months
Video and Music Content | Maximum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Video and music content licensing agreements term	5 years
Video and music content amortization period	5 years