Amazon Gives $20 Gift Cards for Post-Christmas Deliveries, Limits Prime Memberships

Amazon had a record holiday season this year, so much so that it had to limit new Prime memberships and give gift cards to those who didn’t receive packages before Christmas.

According to a new report from CNBC, Amazon set a record on Cyber Monday with 36.8 million items ordered globally, which is about 426 items per second.

Due to this high amount of shopping traffic, Amazon was forced to limit new Prime memberships during the holiday season in an effort to protect the orders of current members. 

Amazon Prime is a $79 annual membership that allows for free unlimited two-day shipping. When checking out through the Amazon website, it posts an offer for a free trial of Amazon Prime if you’re not already a member, allowing customers to utilize that two-day shipping. The problem is that too many people shopping last minute may take advantage of that just to make sure they get their gifts before Christmas, leaving current Prime members in a position where their gifts may be delayed as a result. 

Aside from limited Prime memberships, Amazon also addressed delayed shipments from UPS and FedEx. Both shipping companies said that bad weather and overloaded systems were the reasons for late deliveries that failed to make it before Christmas. 

Amazon responded to complaints regarding late shipments saying that it will review the performance of delivery carriers. It’s also refunding shipping charges for late packages and giving out $20 Amazon gift cards to those who didn’t receive packages by Christmas (but should have).