2020 didn’t go as planned. While the Covid 19 pandemic is a pain for many, some companies like Amazon can still benefit from it as consumers continue to shop even more at home. So, how 2020 changed Amazon? Read on to know the answers in our Amazon 2020 review.
How 2020 Changed Amazon
According to a recent report by the OECD, online sales are increasing to an unprecedented level. In fact, it accounted for a third of all retail sales in the USA and the UK this year.
Statista says Amazon raked in $276 billion, doubling its revenue from 4 years ago. However, the rate of growth is predicted to taper off by 2022. That’s because the decrease of new Amazon Prime subscribers might happen in the USA.
On top of that, this forecast disregards three major trends: pandemic fatigue, the rise in healthcare investment, and the growing environmental issues. These factors will likely lead to a “great reset”! Meanwhile, Amazon has been trying hard to address these issues since the beginning of 2020. For example, the company launched the Climate Friendly badge, Amazon Pharmacy, and set up in-house test labs. Plus, it also facilitated the distribution of test kits across the world. Not to mention its $4 billion, spending on “Coronavirus investment”.
March: Amazon Workers Stage Walkout in Protest of Company’s Coronavirus Response
At the end of March 2020, more than a dozen employees at Amazon’s Staten Island walked off the job to protest how the company responded to a coronavirus outbreak at the facility, CNN reported. The leader of the protest had asked Amazon to shut down its warehouse for sanitizing after seeing multiple cases of the coronavirus there. However, Amazon still kept it open.
In the meantime, at least 13 Amazon warehouses had experienced positive coronavirus cases across the country. Workers had raised concerns about how the company responded to the virus spread at its facilities. There was a report of a lack of screening for coronavirus symptoms, social distancing measures, and protective gear.
April: Amazon Hires 75,000 Workers To Keep Up With Pandemic Demands
Amazon decided to hire for an additional 75,000 positions after bringing on over 100,000 new employees over the previous four weeks. On April 13, the company said that they continue to see increased demand as their teams support communities.
June: Amazon’s Valuation Tops $1.5 Billion
In June, Amazon shares topped $3,000 for the first time ever, pushing its valuation over the $1.5 billion marks, according to CNN. That means Amazon was the third company to do this, after Apple and Microsoft.
July: Amazon Posts Record Quarter Despite Spending $4 Billion on Coronavirus-Related Expenses
Amazon announced its second-quarter results at the beginning of July. The company’s net sales had increased by 40% to $88.9 billion and earnings were up, despite spending a lot on coronavirus-related measures.
This was another highly unusual quarter. And, Jeff Bezos (Amazon CEO) couldn’t be more proud of and grateful to their employees around the globe. As expected, the company spent over $4 billion on incremental COVID-19-related costs to help keep employees safe and deliver products to customers in this time of high demand. From purchasing personal protective equipment, adding new backup family care benefits, to paying a special thank you bonus, their efforts were totally worth it!
September: Amazon Adds 100,000 Operations Jobs
Amazon majorly expanded its workforce once again in September. In a blog post, the company announced that it was looking to fill 100,000 operations network jobs on 100 new facilities, which just opened that month. But, it doesn’t stop there! The following hiring announcement showed that there were still another 33,000 new positions.
October: Nearly 20,000 Amazon Workers Got Coronavirus
According to an Oct 1 blog post, Amazon shared an update on its employee coronavirus testing results. Even though nearly 20,000 employees had tested positive, the company positivity rates remained lower than that of the general population.
To be more specific, Amazon has done a thorough analysis of data on all 1,372,000 Amazon employees across the U.S. In reality, there are 19,816 employees who have been tested positive or presumed positive for COVID-19. However, this number is still 42% lower than the expected number.
Amazon Has Its Biggest Prime Day Ever
Although Prime Day might have been delayed in 2020, this tactical decision looks to have paid off. Recently, Amazon confirmed to CNN that Prime Day 2020 was its best on record since the annual event started in 2015. Even though the company did not release sales figures, experts estimated that Amazon would make around $10 billion in sales during its shopping holidays.
On Oct 20, Amazon announced that some employees could work from home. At the time, Amazon had already reopened its offices with safety measures in place for those who wished to return.
A week after, Amazon decided to hire around 100,000 seasonal workers to meet the expected holiday demand. Amazon claimed that the new seasonal jobs offer opportunities for pay incentives, benefits, and a path to a longer-term career. Or, it can simply provide extra income and flexibility during the holiday season for its workers.
Amazon published its third-quarter results on Oct 29. Again, it was another blowout quarter as people continued to shop online despite the pandemic. In fact, net sales increased by 37% to $96.1 billion in the third quarter of 2020, compared with $70 billion in the third quarter of 2019.
November: Amazon Launches Amazon Pharmacy
The company announced the launch of Amazon Pharmacy. This is a new store on Amazon that allows customers to purchase prescription medications online. Also, Amazon Prime members who order from Amazon Pharmacy receive free two-day delivery. Plus, they’ll also have up to 80% savings when paying without insurance.
December: The Biggest Holiday Shopping Season of All Time
Amazon started the holiday shopping season early with Prime Day pushed to mid-October. And, the company continued its holiday sales through Cyber Monday. Unfortunately, the e-commerce giant didn’t release the official numbers. But, in a recent blog post, Amazon announced that this year’s holiday shopping season is the largest one so far in Amazon history.
What do you think about our Amazon 2020 review? Let us know about it in the comments below!
