In a follow up to the announcement it sent to suppliers and vendors on March 17, explaining that it was prioritizing household staples and medical items until at least April 5, Amazon has issued an update saying it will continue to prioritize those products beyond April 5. It added, however, that it now has the capacity to “broaden the list of prioritized products.” Amazon did not say what items it will add to the priority list.
In a post on its Amazon Vendor Central website, the company said it could not predict when operations will be fully restored. The e-tailer added that “whenever possible we will allow more products to be received, while still ensuring our fulfillment centers are able to process high-priority products.”
In its March 17 announcement, Amazon said that companies whose products were not considered a priority could expect reduced orders and longer delivery times. Amazon instituted the policy to cope with a surge in demand for such items as household staples and medical supplies, among other products for which the e-tailer said it was seeing high demand.
Since the original announcement, most publishers have seen reduced orders and delays in delivery. However, many books ordered from Amazon last week that were showing over a three-week shipping time have seen that time sharply reduced. Amazon has acknowledged that print options for some books are temporarily limited, but added that the company remains committed to selling books in all formats.
