Amazon Expects Disruption In Supply Chain Until Spring

Amazon will push shoppers to buy Christmas gifts a month early and expects supply chain disruption to linger until at least spring next year, according to an internal document seen by The Independent.

- Anna Isaac

The retail giant’s UK arm is expected to ask customers to order as much as four weeks ahead of Christmas Eve in the face of the global supply crunch, according to company planning documents. Even Prime customers, who pay for speedier delivery, may face some delays with their orders.

“There’s an effort to shift the big push of orders that comes through ahead of mid-December earlier,” a person familiar with Amazon’s operations said. “It’s hard to overestimate the level of supply disruption we’re facing, even with our resources. It’s going to be a long, quite painful road to a new normal and air freight can’t take all the strain off of other routes.”

The reminders will start with “shop early” banners on Amazon’s site and app, followed by an email campaign, as it tries to move the bulk of Christmas orders earlier towards the end of November, versus its usual peak in the second and third weeks of December.

The online store, like other businesses, is grappling with global supply chain disruptions that threaten the post-pandemic economic recovery. G7 leaders pledged on Wednesday to join forces in an attempt to address the problems that global trade is facing.

Images of queues outside some of the world’s largest ports have illustrated widespread disorder. Still, some of the issues challenging the UK are particular to Britain, the planning document suggests.