Amazon will crank up the price of Prime membership fees in Europe and U.K. — in some cases by 43% — with the ecommerce giant citing rising expenses and inflation for the hike.
In the U.K., the annual price of Prime will increase 20%, from £79 to £95. Customers in Spain, France and Italy will see their prices rise by up to 43% and in Germany — Amazon’s second-biggest market after the U.S. — the price of an annual Prime membership will jump 30%, from €69 to €89.90.
According to Amazon, the higher prices will take effect starting Sept. 15, for new members and for customers who renew after that date.
In the U.S., Amazon most recently raised the price of Prime memberships in February for the first time in nearly four years. The annual fee for the program increased 17%, from $119 to $139. In addition, the pay-per-month option for Prime rose from $12.99 to $14.99 monthly.
Prime offers free shipping on millions of products as well as additional perks like unlimited access to Prime Video.
In notifications to affected Prime members about the price hikes in Europe and the U.K., Amazon called out “increased inflation and operating costs” as well as faster delivery times and more streaming content being added to Prime Video.
“We continue to focus on making Prime even more valuable for members,” Amazon said in the message to U.K. members. The company noted that it’s the first time it has raised the price of Prime in the country since 2014, and that “During this time, we have significantly increased the number of products available with unlimited, fast Prime delivery; added and expanded ultra-fast fresh grocery delivery; and added more high-quality digital entertainment, including TV, movies, music, games and books.”
Prime Video in particular “has increased the number of TV series and movies on offer, including Amazon Originals, as well as live sports coverage, such as the Premier League and Autumn Nations Series,” the U.K. notice says.
