Amazon Is Squeezing Suppliers to Curb Losses in Price Wars
- Company seeks to raise transportation fees on likes of P&G
- Amazon plans to limit number of single items shoppers can buy
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Amazon.com Inc., locked in a margin-crushing price war, is offloading costs onto suppliers and limiting the number of single, low-priced items shoppers can purchase in an effort to offset rising shipping costs.
In a marked shift in strategy, the e-commerce giant is raising transportation fees for suppliers of beverages, diapers and other heavy, bulky products that are expensive to ship, say two people familiar with the matter. Amazon is also preparing to make it harder for shoppers to buy small orders of toothbrushes, soap, lipstick and other inexpensive items that are difficult to sell profitably online unless they’re part of a larger purchase, one person says. Amazon declined to comment.