Delivery Pace to Return to Normal After Covid Crush – Amazon

Posted on May 13, 2020 at 8:03 am by MobileWorld

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Amazon.com Inc. says the one- and two-day delivery times that shoppers have come to anticipate will return slowly in the coming weeks as the online retailer is catching up from a demand surge linked to coronavirus outbreak.

The company relaxed limits on the amount of inventory its suppliers would send to Amazon warehouses on Sunday and is shortening shipping times — which for some goods had lasted for weeks before the outbreak began.

Amazon spends months planning for the customer

demand spike normally happening during the holiday season.

The Covid-19 outbreak that closed several brick-and – mortar retail stores and sent

millions of shoppers online created a month’s worth of unwarned Black Friday spending.

When Amazon fell behind it took several weeks

to get back on track and recruit 175,000 employees.

“We have eliminated quantity caps on goods that our vendors can deliver to our fulfillment centers,” Kristen Kish, spokeswoman at Amazon, said in an email. “We continue to follow extensive health and safety measures to protect our partners as they pick, pack and ship products to customers and improve delivery speeds throughout our store.

” Even with the delays, Amazon saw a major spike in sales linked to the coronavirus outbreak as shoppers had so few choices. Among the few companies considered necessary were Amazon, big box retailers, supermarkets and pharmacies, and permitted to remain open. But the delays were beginning to tarnish Amazon’s image with its consumers and its suppliers that supplies more than half of goods sold on sites.

Fast delivery is key to Amazon’s customer pledge, helping it draw over 100 million customers who pay monthly or annual Prime membership dues. Prime members are spending more on the platform than non-Prime members , making it important for Amazon to get its delivery times back to normal, particularly when retail stores start reopening and shoppers have more choices.