Amazon is raising its free shipping limit by a whopping 40% for some customers in an effort to make its operations more convenient.
According to some areas of his website (via CNBC), non-Prime customers in some regions are now being asked to spend $35 to get free shipping, up from $25.
The e-commerce platform giant also increased the cost of its Prime membership in late 2022 by up to 20% for some payment methods, without any overhaul of its benefits.
Amazon is getting expensive
A company spokesperson told CNBC that it would test the price hike for some customers. While this is a move clearly designed to cover rising costs, it’s also one that could prompt more potential customers to sign up for Prime and share some of their monthly income with the e-commerce giant.
Details about the program, such as which customers are affected and whether it is likely to be implemented permanently, are unclear. A company spokesman said tech Radar Pro in an email:
“We continually evaluate our offers and make changes based on those ratings. We are currently testing a minimum of $35 for non-Prime customers to qualify for free shipping. Prime members continue to enjoy free shipping on over 300 million items , with tens of millions of items available for free with same-day or overnight delivery.”
While this is bound to be unwelcome news for many consumers, preventing one-time purchases and encouraging shoppers to ship multiple items together is an environmental win.
Prime continues to be a behemoth for the company, which recently expanded its fleet of electric vehicles, made its express delivery options available to multiple third parties, and even offered low-income businesses to work extra shifts for the delivery of Prime packages during their rest periods. peak hours.
However, the allure of a subscription isn’t what it used to be, and the company risks losing some customers to alternative e-commerce outlets as they become more sustainability-minded.
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