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Amazon is removing the free delivery perk for some grocery orders starting Feb. 28. Prime members who will buy from Amazon Fresh will have to pay a fee if their purchased items are below $150.
As per Fox News, shoppers will be charged between $3.95 and $9.95 for their orders, and rates will depend on the size of orders. Amazon informed Prime members about this change through an email that was sent out late last week.
“We will continue to offer convenient two-hour delivery windows for all orders, and customers in some areas will be able to select a longer, six-hour delivery window for a reduced fee,” part of the company’s email reads. “This service fee will help keep prices low in our online and physical grocery stores as we better cover grocery delivery costs and continue to enable offering a consistent, fast, and high-quality delivery experience.”
While the new delivery policy is not yet in effect, members of the e-commerce firm’s subscription service still enjoy free grocery deliveries if they spend more than $35 in Amazon Fresh outlets and $50 in New York branches.
Currently, Amazon Prime has over 200 million members around the world, and they pay $139 per year or $14.99 per month for membership. The company said that delivery charges that will be applied next month are $3.95 for orders worth $100 to $150, $6.95 for $50 to $100 worth, and $9.95 for purchases under $50. Deliver is free for groceries worth more than $150.
Amazon’s move to impose delivery fees for groceries under $150 comes as it tries to find ways of reducing costs amid the current economic situation. This also follows the company’s job layoffs this month, where about 18,000 employees were let go.
Finally, CNBC reported that the decision was also made after the company’s chief executive officer, Andy Jassy, launched a wide-ranging review of Amazon’s expenses as sales started to slow, plus the economic outlook is getting worse as well.
Photo by: Nick-D/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
