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Amazon (AMZN) Prioritizes Old Grocery Orders Over New Ones

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Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) recently started prioritizing orders in a bid to manage the flurry of grocery orders in this coronavirus-induced lockdown scenario.

Notably, the company will reportedly keep the new grocery orders on hold in order to address the existing customer orders first.

This comes as a result of the delivery delays the company has been facing over the past few weeks due to coronavirus-led panic shopping. Notably, overflowing orders have been slowing down delivery time.

Hence, Amazon will be putting new grocery customers on waiting list. Moreover, many customers have reported of not being able to place orders as a result of inadequate delivery slots.

With this initiative, the company is giving priority to orders on the first come, first served basis.

Although this will aid Amazon’s momentum among existing customers, it might make the company less attractive to new ones.

Nevertheless, the company is making strong efforts to expand delivery capabilities and workforce in order to sustain customer momentum despite the challenging situation.

Amazon’s Commitment to Meet Customer Demand

The latest move bodes well for the company’s growing initiatives toward meeting the rapidly increasing customer demand during the crisis scenario.

Apart from prioritizing, Amazon intends to cut down operating hours at some Whole Foods stores in a bid to dedicate more hours to the delivery of online orders.

Further, it has recently expanded the number of Whole Foods stores offering grocery pickup service to more than 150 locations.

Additionally, the company has taken an initiative to bolster its Same-Day Delivery program by making same-day delivery service available in the cities of Philadelphia, Phoenix, Orlando and Dallas for Prime members.

The company has also built mini-fulfillment centers, which are first of their kind buildings. Notably, the new facilities are located closer to customers, which is likely to help Amazon in reducing the number of hours taken to deliver orders via same-day delivery services.

Further, it has recently announced that it is temporarily suspending its own delivery service, Amazon Shipping, starting June. This, in turn, will help the company to focus on its core delivery operations in this crisis scenario by allocating workers and drivers to the same.

The company has also recently announced plans to hire 100,000 warehouse and delivery employees.

Further, it partnered with ride-hailing company, Lyft (LYFT - Free Report) . Per the deal, Lyft has asked its drivers to consider job opportunities at Amazon as means of additional income. These comprise delivery drivers, warehouse and shopper jobs.

Wrapping Up

All the abovementioned endeavors reflect Amazon’s commitment toward the betterment of customers, which in turn is likely to drive customer momentum.

We believe these initiatives are likely to aid Amazon in gaining investor confidence in this volatile stock market as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the retail-wholesale sector that can be considered are eBay (EBAY - Free Report) and Alibaba (BABA - Free Report) , both carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Long-term earnings growth rate for eBay and Alibaba is pegged at 11.56% and 25.6%, respectively.

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