Amazon is raising the annual cost of its Prime membership by $20, the e-commerce giant announced on Thursday.
The annual cost of Prime membership will rise from $119 to $139, or from $12.99 to $14.99 for monthly subscribers. Existing Prime members will see the price increase after March 25, when their membership renews.
The higher price will be applied to new Prime members beginning February 18, according to Amazon.
When Amazon Prime debuted in 2005, the service cost $79 per year in the United States. Its price has since been raised twice: once to $99 in 2014 and once to $119 in 2018. The membership includes free shipping on eligible items, access to Amazon’s streaming service, Prime Video, and a slew of other perks such as member-only deals, discounts at Amazon-owned Whole Foods, and access to Amazon’s reading, music, and gaming services.
However, Wall Street insiders have warned that the price of prime is likely to rise in 2022 as well. Amazon’s cost of doing business has risen as a result of widespread inflation and global supply chain pressures such as port delays and COVID-related disruptions.
Nonetheless, new perks such as free one-day shipping on some products and highly anticipated Prime Video shows such as the „Lord of the Rings” series make the service more appealing to customers. In fact, since the outbreak of the pandemic, Prime has seen massive growth, adding over 50 million new subscribers since January 2020.
Now, it appears that Amazon recognizes its ability—and perhaps necessity—to raise the price of membership.
With the continued expansion of Prime member benefits, as well as the rise in wages and transportation costs, Amazon stated in a press release.
Feed Source -> Businessinsider.com
