Amazon Is Pandemic's E-Commerce Winner by 'Wide Margin': Wedbush

Inflationary pressures likely benefited Amazon in Q1, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter wrote investors Thursday, previewing Amazon’s April 28 earnings report. Wedbush expects revenue and operating income at the high-end of Amazon’s guidance, at $120 billion and $6 billion. Pachter noted Amazon recently announced a 5% surcharge for Fulfillment by Amazon sellers, taking effect this month to cover higher fuel and inflation expenses, and said the same pressures drove higher product prices for most categories, “especially groceries.” He estimated a 5% product price increase at Amazon in Q1. Some 78% of respondents to a March Wedbush survey said they spent more on Amazon during the COVID-19 pandemic than they typically would have; 74% reported doing so in September and March 2021 and 80% in August 2020. Next up was Walmart, with 39% of respondents currently spending at elevated levels, he said. Findings supported the Wedbush thesis that the shift to online spending throughout the pandemic has changed consumers’ shopping habits “more permanently," with Amazon "appearing to be the biggest recipient of dollars shifting online, by a wide margin.”