Considering what's happening with more and more people both working from home or self-quarantining themselves, logic would dictate that more online shopping than usual would be taking place. And, as Amazon is one of the top retailers in the world, they've had to make some adjustments in order to facilitate the increase in purchases.
Amazon has announced that they will be prioritizing shipments of "household staples and medical supplies" ahead of any item they deem as "nonessential" in the U.S. and the U.K. The move comes as Amazon has been frequently selling out of items that are deemed in the essential category.
"We are seeing increased online shopping and as a result some products such as household staples and medical supplies are out of stock," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday. "With this in mind, we are temporarily prioritizing 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."
The news of the prioritization of shipments comes just a day after Amazon announced that they will be hiring 100,000 workers in order to meet the increased demand during "this stressful time."
According to the The Amazon blog:
In addition to the 100,000 new roles we’re creating, we want to recognize our employees who are playing an essential role for people at a time when many of the services that might normally be there to support them are closed. In the U.S., we will be adding an additional $2 USD per hour worked through April from our current rate of $15/hour or more, depending on the region, C$2 in Canada, £2 per hour in the UK, and approximately €2 per hour in many EU countries. This commitment to increased pay through the end of April represents an investment of over $350 million in increased compensation for hourly employees across the U.S., Europe, and Canada.
The move to prioritize essential goods will take effect immediately through April 5th.