Not-So-Prime: Virus Sparks Delivery Delays, Shortages At Amazon 

Amazon has informed customers in a blog post that it has sold out of some household items, and prime deliveries could be disrupted during the Covid-19 outbreak.  

The online retailer updated its blog post on Saturday and told customers that “we are currently out of stock on some popular brands and items, especially in household staples categories.”

It said that certain items could experience longer than normal delivery times.

“We are working around the clock with our selling partners to ensure availability on all of our products, and bring on additional capacity to deliver all of your orders,” the post added.

In the last two months, Prime members have noticed notifications saying “inventory and delivery may be temporarily unavailable due to increased demand” for certain products, such as 3M N-95 virus masks. More recently, the shortage of products has significantly expanded to bottled water, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and vitamins. Amazon noted that it has worked extremely hard to crack down on price gouging, especially seen with third-party sellers selling masks and hand sanitizers for many folds over the suggested retail price. 

Social distancing has led to the max exodus of shoppers at brick and mortar stores, who have now gravitated to online shopping to prevent spreading.

“As COVID-19 has spread, we’ve recently seen an increase in people shopping online,” Amazon wrote. “In the short term, this is having an impact on how we serve our customers.”

Amazon is gearing up for increased online activity as the virus crisis is expected to worsen in the weeks ahead. A Wall Street Journal report on Monday said the online retailer is expected to add 100,000 workers to cope with the surge in new demand. 

The virus crisis will forever change how consumers shop. Social distancing will ensure more online shopping. But in the meantime, Amazon has been caught off guard by the rapid surge and will result in shortages of products and shipping delays.