Amazon Prime is Getting More expensive in the United States. Amazon just published its fourth-quarter earnings report for the period that actually ended on December 31, 2021. And in it, they revealed among other things that it plans to increase its Amazon Prime membership price in the US.
The subscriptions increase will start from $12.99 per month to $14.99 per month for Monthly memberships, and from $119 per year to $19 per year for Yearly memberships. According to Amazon, this is the very first-time prime membership rates have spiked up ever since 2018.
Amazon Prime is Getting More expensive in the United States
While the yearly plan would continue to offer a slightly much better rate over the monthly option, the difference in annual cost increases between the two actually is just $4, with a year of monthly payments rising by $24 While the yearly plan is up by $20. With that stated, the overall difference in cost between the two plans does actually add up as you choose to still stand to save up to about $40 with a yearly subscription versus paying for 12 months separately.
The price changes are expected to be taking effect for all new Amazon Prime members on the 18 of February 2022. The current prime members have a slightly longer period, with the new rates ticking over for renewals after March 25, 2022, if your subscription is up before then, you actually might still get a chance to lock in the current price for a while longer.
Why is there A Price Increase
Amazon cites its continued investments in Prime, expanding the membership benefits, rising wages, and transportation costs as the basic factors for the increase. The company then goes on to point out a big increase in the number of original shows and films for Prime Video and including the upcoming “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Series. And, of course, there are other Prime Originals like “The Wheel of Time” and “Coming 2 America” that happen to have experienced a release ever since the expansion started in 2018.
There is also an increase in the number of items that have offered free prime shipping, with Amazon saying there would be free same-day shipping has also since been expanded from 48 metropolitan areas to 90. Beyond that, Amazon points toward relatively new programs that it happens to be introduced just like Amazon Pharmacy, as well as its expansion of older existing offerings just like Amazon Music and Prime Gaming. Nothing has been stated concerning the company’s Blue Origin Spacecraft as a contributor, however.
Verdict
The expansion taking place outside prime have accrued additional expenses, with Amazon’s very first physical clothing store, Amazon Style, set to launch later this year. To add, the very first Starbucks pickup with Amazon Go has just been launched in New York in November of 2021. In essence, Amazon happens to have spread its profits throughout more areas and has plans to recoup some of those costs through its prime memberships.
