Amazon in India to stop non-essential sales, shipments

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc’s India unit on Tuesday said it will temporarily stop taking orders for non-essential products and disable their deliveries in a bid to fulfil critical needs of its customers at a time much of the country is under lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Amazon will prioritise the sale and delivery of household staples, packaged foods, healthcare, hygiene and personal safety products, the company said in a blog post.

Seattle, Washington-based Amazon’s move comes at a time India’s lockdown of several cities has disrupted deliveries by e-commerce firms and online grocers.

(Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; editing by Jason Neely)