Amazon executive says Omicron's impact on holiday spending uncertain

 The United States and other countries are now imposing travel restrictions after the emerging Omicron variant, first detected in South Africa, began spreading to other parts of the world

By Mike Spector

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A senior Amazon.com Inc executive said it remains too early to predict how the Omicron coronavirus variant will impact consumer spending during the holiday season but suggested that shoppers will press ahead for now.

"It's very early in the process of understanding what's happening with the new variant," said Dave Clark, chief executive of Amazon's worldwide consumer business, during a Sunday morning interview on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Clark said he was "incredibly optimistic" about the ability of scientists and pharmaceutical companies that have developed effective vaccines to respond to the new variant while shoppers take stock of developments.

"Consumers are going to wait and see in terms of what happens ... but are going to move on with their lives into this holiday season," Clark said.

Clark's comments came amid a backdrop of recent supply chain disruptions the Biden administration has linked to the spread of another coronavirus variant, Delta.

The United States and other countries are now imposing travel restrictions after the emerging Omicron variant, first detected in South Africa, began spreading to other parts of the world. In the Netherlands, Dutch health authorities said 13 cases were found among passengers on two flights that landed in Amsterdam on Friday after departing South Africa.

Britain, Denmark and Australia have also found cases in recent days. While there are not documented cases yet in the United States, health experts said the variant could already be present.