Amazon has warned that it has been experiencing delayed delivery days and running out of household items due to increased demands amid the coronavirus outbreak.
On Saturday, Amazon said in a blog post the issues are a result of a “dramatic increase in the rate that people are shopping online.”
It also said that some popular brands and items in the “household staples” categories were out of stock and its “delivery promises are longer than usual.”
“In the short term, this is having an impact on how we serve our customers,” Amazon said. “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 multinational tech company added a notice that reads, “Inventory and delivery may be temporarily unavailable due to increased demand. Confirm availability at checkout.”
In-demand items such as toilet paper and bottled water listings were out of stock. The company’s speedy one-day and two-day delivery options have also been affected. It says your order would arrive within four days.
Amazon has been facing increased demand on multiple fronts due to the coronavirus outbreak. With people going online to stocking up stuff, services such as Prime Now and the Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service have been reporting limited availability for several days. It has even told shoppers they were unable to make deliveries.
These increased demands threaten to pose logistical challenges for Amazon, while it has been working to prevent such challenges. In China, some factories remain offline.
Amazon has also relaxed its policy for warehouse workers, permitting them to take unlimited unpaid leave this whole month. It has also taken extra precautionary measures at fulfillment centers by increasing the intensity and frequency of cleaning of all its sites. The company also requires its employees to sanitize and clean their workstations.
Globally, the virus has affected more than 170,000 and killed over 6,500 people so far. In the United States, the virus has sickened over 3,800 and killed 69 people so far.
