Amazon.com (AMZN 1.30%) has been swamped with orders through its Prime Pantry service. This prompted the online retail titan to temporarily close the service to restock inventory. Prime pantry allows customers to order a range of packaged items like cereal, snacks, beverages, and other household items directly from Amazon. Orders above $35 ship free to Prime members.
Whole Foods Market, which Amazon owns, has also been swamped with demand. The organic grocery chain offers home delivery through the Prime Now app. Some customers have had to wait a few days for delivery windows to become available, as the mad rush to stock up for self-quarantines rages on.
Image source: Amazon.com.
Scrambling to fill orders
It's not the ideal time for grocery stores to pat themselves on the back, but clearly grocery stores across the country are seeing a surge in sales. The high demand prompted Kroger to hire 2,000 new workers in the last week, with 10,000 openings still available.
Amazon recently announced it would fill 100,000 new positions in the U.S. to satisfy demand and has also said it would stop accepting non-essential items at its warehouses to free up space.
This situation just reinforces why Amazon is built to thrive not only during the COVID-19 crisis, but also over the long term. It offers everything you need, delivered conveniently to your door, with no human contact necessary. That's why Amazon stock has held up well during the broad market sell-off.
