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Amazon Inc. is set to raise its Prime delivery and streaming service in Europe by up to 43% a year. The company said on Monday, July 25, that it made the decision was made for the company to cope and fight higher operating costs.
As per Reuters, Amazon made this announcement a few days before it was scheduled to present its quarterly financial results. This price hike came after the e-commerce and tech company announced higher fees for its Prime services in the United States in February.
It was noted that Germany is the second-biggest market for Amazon after the U.S., and customers there will now see fees for their annual Prime membership increasing by 30% to €89.90 or about $91.88.
Amazon’s third biggest market, which is the United Kingdom, will see a 20% increase to £95, which is $114.47 in US dollars per year. Amazon Prime members in Spain, France, and Italy will be charged between 39% and 43% more per year. The higher fee rates will take effect on Sept. 15 when people join or renew their memberships.
At any rate, Amazon suggested it was left with no choice but to implement higher fees due to "increased inflation and operating costs." The company also cited improved delivery and added content for streaming as the reasons for the price hike. This is said to be the first increase in some territories since 2018.
“Amazon raising the price of Prime membership is unsurprising given recent inflation — and that it already pulled this lever in the US six months ago,” Financial Times quoted Andrew Lipsman from Insider Intelligence as saying concerning the latest increase in the membership fee. “While the timing of this price hike will be met with more grumbles than it would’ve been in February, consumers will ultimately shrug off the increase since Prime remains a great value.”
Finally, the price hike in Amazon Prime’s membership fee in Europe made the region the fifth to have the increase as the company tries to battle the increasing costs of business operations.
