The Reason Amazon Prime Delivery Delays Are Now As Long As A Month
As disturbing as it may be to some desperate work-from-hone customers, expresso machines are not included in Amazon's essential product category list. JL
Jason Del Rey reports in Vox:
Customers and Amazon merchants say nonessential items (ordered now) show April 21 delivery dates, even
though listed as in-stock and shipping with Amazon Prime. Normally, Amazon Prime deliveries arrive in one or two daysin the US. The delays showcase how much shoppers are
turning to online shopping, and how even Amazon
can only do so much. Amazon said it would only accept new stock in its warehouses
through early Aprilif it was in one of six products categories.
Amazonannounced earlier this weekthat it would start prioritizing the most in-demand essential items in its warehouses, as the e-commerce giant struggles to keep up with customer demand during theCovid-19 coronaviruspandemic.
Now the other shoe has dropped.
On Sunday, customers and Amazon merchants posted on social media platforms saying certain nonessential items were showing April 21 delivery dates, even though they were listed as in-stock and shipping with Amazon’s Prime express shipping service. During normal times, Amazon Prime deliveries typicallyarrive in one or two daysin the US. Now, some Prime deliveries for in-stock items are showing five-day delivery promises on the lower end, but those waits are as long as a month on some items.
An Amazon spokesperson confirmed to Recode on Sunday evening that the new April 21 delivery dates are not the result of a technical bug or error; they accurately reflect Amazon’s current reality.
“To serve our customers in need while also helping to ensure the safety of our associates, we’ve changed our logistics, transportation, supply chain, purchasing, and third-party seller processes to prioritize stocking and delivering items that are a higher priority for our customers,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “This has resulted in some of our delivery promises being longer than usual.”
The significant delivery delays showcase just how much shoppers are turning to online shopping during the global health crisis, and how even an online retailer as technologically advanced and powerful as Amazon can only do so much to handle such an unexpected, once-in-a-generation shopping rush. On Tuesday, Amazon acknowledged the challenges it was facing when it said it would only accept new stock in its warehouses through early Aprilif it was in one of six essential products categories, such as health and household goods or medical supplies. The company also said it waslooking to hire 100,000 new workersto help sort, package, and deliver goods for customers.
The trade-off Amazon is making, for now, is that some items like printer ink and coffee makers — which don’t fall into the six different product categories Amazon is currently prioritizing as essential — are showing delivery delays unlike anything Amazon customers have experienced in recent memory. It’s unclear if Amazon will refund Prime membership fees — either partially or fully — if the delays continue. Amazon Prime costs $119 a year in the US and comes with other perks beyond express shipping like video and music streaming.
On Twitter,customers cited April 21 delivery datesfor items as varied as computer monitor cables to espresso machines. One person complained that he tried to order cables that he’d “normally go to Guitar Center and grab,” but Amazon could only deliver them by April 21. That’s the same date Recode found when we looked up similar cables on Sunday night.
For Amazon merchants who sell in categories outside of the ones Amazon currently deems essential, the delivery delays could be problematic.
“This has to be the biggest disruption to Amazon’s operations since they started,” said Joe Kaziukenas, CEO of the e-commerce research firm Marketplace Pulse. “And, unfortunately, it will have a big impact on sellers and ultimately customers, too.”
Sunday,Amazon sellers compared notes on Reddit message boardsto try to figure out which items were showing delays and which weren’t. Some said their items were showing April 21 delivery dates even though they were goods in one of the six categories Amazon is currently prioritizing. Others said the same item was showing normal delivery times for some zip codes, but April 21 delivery for other zip codes.
Either way, this is the current reality for Amazon customers and Amazon sellers alike: Five-day Prime delivery waits are the norm, and month-long waits are not uncommon. And it’s unclear how long it will last.
As a Partner and Co-Founder of Predictiv and PredictivAsia, Jon specializes in management performance and organizational effectiveness for both domestic and international clients. He is an editor and author whose works include Invisible Advantage: How Intangilbles are Driving Business Performance. Learn more...
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