Just before The Lord of the Rings.
Amazon caused quite a stir on Thursday when it announced plans to increase the price of its Prime membership. As part of Amazon’s fourth-quarter 2021 earnings report, it said the annual cost of Amazon Prime would increase by $20 to $139 a year. The monthly fee goes up by $2 to $14.99, or $180 for 12 months. Notably, the company reported more than $137 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2021 alone.
So are the price hikes enough to make you ditch Amazon?
Poll: Are you still sticking with Amazon Prime after the price hike?
Amazon attributes the price hikes to rising costs due to inflation, not to mention raising the average worker wage to $18 an hour to address labor issues. Amazon CFO Andy Jassy also said the company has not raised subscription prices since 2018.
Notably, the price hike comes ahead of the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: Ring of Thrones TV series, which will begin streaming on Prime Video in September. The company reportedly poured as much as $1 billion into the show, which will be available to Prime Video subscribers. The company can entice fans to keep their subscriptions from just the show’s marketing, or even convince others to end up subscribing.
Of course, there are plenty of other perks to an Amazon Prime subscription, such as shipping, exclusive deals, and discounts on other Amazon services like Prime Music Unlimited, one of the best music streaming services out there, thanks to its high-quality audio. The question is whether you think Amazon should be charging consumers more, even though Amazon is making nearly $500 billion in 2021.
Offers, discounts, etc.
Amazon Prime
From $119/year.on Amazon
What is it worth to you?
Amazon Prime members enjoy free shipping, usually with one- or two-day shipping options. They also get free two-hour grocery delivery and access to the Prime Video streaming service, which includes a ton of movies and shows.
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