Over the last few years, we’ve already seen Amazon take enormous amount of market share away from bricks and mortar retailers, but now due to coronavirus closures, the retail giant is about to get the biggest captive audience it could ever imagine.
With nonessential businesses being ordered to close by various state governors, Amazon stands to increase its demand for its services and the products that it delivers.
But if the company can’t match that demand, it might be, in some senses, an embarrassment of riches – or a Pyrrhic victory. Call it what you will – Amazon leaders are frantically trying to manage these dramatic spikes in ordering.
At CNET, Ben Fox Rubin reports on what Amazon is doing to meet the challenge, including trying to make warehouses cleaner and get more trucks on the road.
Then there’s the hiring – Rubin reports Amazon announced it will hire 100,000 more part-time and full-time American employees, including for warehouse jobs and delivery roles.
There’s also a plan to triage orders according to their necessity, delivering medical supplies and household staples first, and leaving the luxury items temporarily on the back burner.
“We can more quickly receive, restock and deliver these products to customers,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a press statement.
Delays, experts tell us, will be inevitable, and just like any other company, Amazon will have to deal with the reality that’s in play on the ground.
In the meantime, consumers are stocking up on toilet paper and hand sanitizer wherever they can find it. As DJIA heads down toward the $20,000 mark, plan and invest accordingly.