Amazon stops accepting new online grocery customers amid surging demand

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

TECHNOLOGY NEWS APRIL 13, 2020 / 2:06 AM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

Amazon stops accepting new online grocery customers amid surging demand

Krystal Hu
4 MIN READ

(Reuters) - Amazon will begin to put new grocery delivery customers on a wait list and curtail shopping hours at some Whole Foods stores to prioritize orders from existing customers buying food online during the coronavirus outbreak, the company said on Sunday.

Many shoppers recently seeking to purchase groceries from the Seattle-based ​e-commerce company found they could not place orders due to a lack of available delivery slots. Amazon said it would have to relegate all new online grocery customers to a wait list starting Monday while working on adding capacity each week.

In recent weeks, it increased the number of Whole Foods stores offering grocery pickup ​to more than 150 locations, up from 80 previously.

Amazon ​also plans to shorten some Whole Foods stores’ hours for the public so its employees can more quickly fulfill online grocery orders, the company said.

The moves illustrates how the world’s largest online retailer, which showed its ambition to enter the grocery industry by acquiring Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in August 2017, is now leveraging its presence both online and in physical stores to handle high demand from consumers who are stuck eating at home, with many restaurant dining rooms closed to the public.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-amazon-com-grocery/amazon-stops-accepting-new-online-grocery-customers-amid-surging-demand-idUSKCN21V0CO

[Nonhlanhla]

1. I'm glad I'm an existing customer

I have sufficient pantry type food like beans etc., but I'm having fresh goods delivered from Amazon Fresh once a week, and I'm lucky to be in an area where I never have a problem getting a delivery time slot, even now. Their prices are good, and this way I get some bananas, yogurt, eggs, bread, and milk. To be honest, I might continue this service even once this pandemic is over: go shopping once a month at Aldi's for essentials (their prices can't be beat), and then having fresh goods delivered from Amazon every week. Between that and my small box of surprise fruits and veggies from Misfits Markets every week we're good to go.

I plan to start sewing face masks from high quality quilting cotton later this week, and will leave one for each delivery person starting next week, though. As a high risk person who cannot go to the stores myself, I appreciate their service and want them to be safe.