Amazon: we want to make sure our customers can get the items they need
Amazon is temporarily suspending non-essential shipments to its warehouses in the US and UK and prioritising household staples, medical supplies and other high demand products until the 5 April to make space for customers during the coronavirus outbreak.
The Amazon blog states: “We believe our role serving customers and the community during this time is a critical one, and we want to make sure our customers can get the items they need, when they need them. As COVID-19 has spread, we’ve recently seen an increase in people shopping online which has had an impact on how we serve our customers.
So in the short term, we are making the decision to temporarily prioritize household staples, medical supplies and other high demand products coming into our fulfillment centers so we can more quickly receive, restock and ship these products to customers. We are working around the clock with our selling partners to ensure availability of these essential products, and continue to bring on additional capacity to deliver customer orders.
“While Amazon will continue taking orders and shipping items from across our store, customers ordering items they don’t need immediately have the opportunity to help others by choosing No-Rush Shipping. Selecting the No-Rush option enables us to consolidate orders and make fewer stops in neighborhoods throughout the week, and most importantly, serve customers with the most critical needs first.
“We’re also working to ensure that no one artificially raises prices on basic need products during this pandemic and have blocked or removed tens of thousands of items, in line with our long-standing policy. We actively monitor our store and remove offers that violate our policy.
To protect customers shopping in our physical retail stores, we’ve enhanced our daily cleaning procedures and are implementing additional nightly cleaning. We continue to educate employees on CDC guidance for maintaining healthy habits, and are offering flexibility for employees who need to stay home, plus paid time off for those who are diagnosed with the virus.
Prime Now, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods Market delivery customers always have the option to select “unattended delivery” during checkout if they prefer not to come into contact with others. Orders not containing alcohol are eligible for unattended delivery, and will be left in a location specified by the customer.
