Amazon is taking steps to make life a little easier for the many drivers who comprise the Flex force that use their own vehicles to deliver packages.
CNBC reported that Amazon quietly launched a program called Flex Rewards last week.
"Delivering with Flex just got more rewarding," an Amazon website for drivers proclaimed.
Amazon's Flex Rewards program lists incentives, including up to 6 percent cash back on fuel purchases; 2 percent cash back on Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market purchases; 1 percent cash back on purchases made with an Amazon Flex debit card; and the ability to reserve preferred time blocks for scheduling.
According to CNBC, Amazon Flex drivers in the past have had to scramble to grab assignments with very little advance notice regarding when and where they'll be needed.
The program also includes other incentives related to the purchase of insurance and other typical needs.
The program's website states: "With Amazon Flex Rewards, you earn points by making deliveries. As you earn more points, you’ll level up and have access to new rewards associated with that level. And, you’ll be able to enjoy those rewards throughout the next earning period. Whether it’s reaching a new level of rewards or simply maintaining the ones you’ve already enjoyed, you’re in the driver’s seat."
Amazon executives have shown significant signs — especially during the company's late-October earnings call — that they are gearing up for the first holiday shopping season since the pandemic began wreaking havoc on traditional retail.
Calendar 2020 delivery data isn't yet available, but in late December 2019 Amazon said it was on track to deliver 3.5 billion packages that year. That figure included a forecast 200 million packages during the final 10 days of the calendar year.
In August, Amazon told some transportation vendors that the company was increasing its demands around the delivery of packages in two days at maximum.
