Amazon has announced that it will raise the price of its Prime membership to $99 starting on June 14.
Amazon identified rising fuel and transportation costs along with a growing stable of products eligible for the program's unlimited two-day shipping as factors in the price increase. Amazon Prime currently costs $79 per year.
New Prime members will begin paying the higher price on March 20, while existing members will begin renewing at $99 on April 17. It is the first price hike in Prime's nine-year history.
A price increase was first floated by the company during the most recent investor call following the company's fourth-quarter earnings report. The $20 price increase is on the lower end of what Amazon CFO Tom Szkutak discussed.
Amazon also noted that its growing media library, much of it included in Prime, now counted 40,000 movies and TV episodes as well as 500,000 e-books available for lending. It has also been reported that
Amazon has been in talks to add streaming music to its media offerings.
"We are working to expand selection even further, as we develop additional fulfillment and transportation capacity to make the Prime program even more valuable to our members," an Amazon spokesperson wrote in an email to Mashable.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Share this
