If you’re eagerly waiting for a new guitar amp or a barbeque grill, chances are that you might have to wait for a little longer for your order to arrive. According to a report from Recode, Amazon is pushing Prime delivery dates of ‘non-essential’ items in the US due to the coronavirus pandemic well past the usual day or two.
The development was confirmed by the company after several sellers and buyers posted on social media that shipping dates for their orders have been postponed. Most deliveries for Prime subscribers generally arrive within a day or two in the US. However, given the current situation, many items are showing a delivery date from five days to up to a month after your order is placed.
[Read: Amazon opens 100K new jobs to keep up with coronavirus demand]
In a statement given to Recode, the ecommerce giant said it has changed its strategy to make sure its workers are safe:
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. This has resulted in some of our delivery promises being longer than usual.
To make matters worse, Amazon says if I buy it now, it will arrive April 21.
— Ted Malone (@tedmalone) March 23, 2020
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Last week, Amazon said it is prioritizing the delivery of household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products to make sure people have enough essential items while they are under quarantine.
The company also said it plans to hire 100,000 additional staffers in the US to meet the high demand during the pandemic. Meanwhile, sellers are worried that they might have to layoff staff due to Amazon’s revamped strategy during the pandemic, which could go on for a while to come.
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