Amazon preps warehouses for holiday shopping season

Amazon limits FBA product storage to prep for holiday 2020
Amazon warehouse (Image credit: Shutterstock)

On the heels of Prime Day 2020’s postponement, Amazon is now preparing for the holiday shopping season. The company recently announced  that it’s making changes to its Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) merchant services. 

Merchants are now restricted to quantity limits for FBA products stored in its U.S. warehouses. Amazon is reviewing sellers’ inventory performance index threshold to determine storage space allocations.

For merchants who want to replace non-selling inventory with new products, Amazon is waiving all product removal fees. The retailer also shared that its slated to open 33 new fulfillment centers across the country. 

Traditionally held in July to commemorate Amazon’s founding date, this month marks Prime Day’s 5th anniversary. 

With Prime Day 2020 now on track to take place closer to holiday 2020, Amazon will likely preview its best Black Friday deals at this time. Particularly on Amazon hardware like the new Fire HD 8 tablets. Last year, Black Friday-like deals began surfacing in late October. 

Amazon is betting its FBA overhaul will help it get its warehouse logistics ready for the influx of holiday orders. From the months of March through May, the rush of online orders affected Amazon’s supply and demand operations.

“Since the pandemic hit, COVID-19 has impacted supply chains around the world, and we’ve all had to make fast adjustments,” Amazon told sellers.

“Given the unprecedented challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on all of us, we are preparing early to deliver a great holiday season for our customers and selling partners—building out capacity as quickly as we can so we can deliver products customers need and want directly to their doorsteps and help you continue to grow your business,” the company said. 

Hilda Scott

Hilda Scott uses her combined passion for gadgets and bargain shopping to bring you the best prices on all things tech. She has a bachelor’s degree in film and media studies from Hunter College and 11 years of tech and entertainment journalism. Her work has been featured on Tom’s Guide, iTechPost, Examiner.com, Parlemag, Enstars, and Latin Times. When she's not scouting for the best deals, Hilda’s catching up on her favorite TV shows and pro-wrestling matches.