Amazon aims to get shoppers to buy less with website changes amidst uncertain times

Amazon Logo Wall Grey 7qgl
Amazon Logo Wall Grey 7qgl (Image credit: Andrew Martonik / Android Central)

What you need to know

  • Amazon is making changes to its site to reduce impulse shopping.
  • A new "speed team" of executives has been set up to try and get things back to normal.
  • The company could be two months away from resuming regular shipping procedures.

It comes as no surprise to anyone that Amazon's been having trouble keeping up with demand lately, but according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, the retailer has been tweaking its website in an effort to reduce the number of items people are buying. Back in March, Amazon paused inbound shipments from 3rd-party sellers to its warehouses in an effort to focus on only essential items, but that doesn't appear that it's been a big enough change. The company is seeing increased orders across the board, and struggles to fulfill the deliveries and meet the demand.

An employee who was involved with the changes said:

We typically want to sell as much as we can, but our entire network is so full right now with just hand sanitizer and toilet paper that we don't have the capacity to serve other demand.

Some of the changes that Amazon has made to its site since include removing the home page link to its daily deals section, removal of promotion for Mother's Day and Father's Day, as well as a rumored delay to its annual Prime Day event. In addition, Amazon has reduced the number of coupons on its site in an effort to reduce the number of impulse buys and to prevent people from just loading up their cart and focusing only on the essentials.

A "speed team" has been set up at Amazon, which is a team of senior executives that have been tasked with figuring out how and when the company can return to a normal selection of products and what delivery times will be. It's rumored that the company could be more than two months away from this goal at the current time, even though another recent report said Amazon was planning to resume 3rd-party shipments.

Have you listened to this week's Android Central Podcast?

Android Central

Every week, the Android Central Podcast brings you the latest tech news, analysis and hot takes, with familiar co-hosts and special guests.

  • Subscribe in Pocket Casts: Audio
  • Subscribe in Spotify: Audio
  • Subscribe in iTunes: Audio
Jared DiPane
Jared started off writing about mobile phones back when BlackBerry ruled the market, and Windows Mobile was kinda cool. Now, with a family, mortgage and other responsibilities he has no choice but to look for the best deals, and he's here to share them with you.