Amazon just announced that it is going to increase the price of Amazon Prime in several European countries in September 2022. The price for an Amazon Prime membership in Europe's five biggest markets increases by up to 43% as a consequence.
Amazon informed its customers about the upcoming price increase in an email. The annual price for Prime increases by £16 in the UK to £95 per year, which is a 20% increase. In Germany, the price goes up €20.90 to €89.90, which equates a 30% increase.
Italian and Spanish Amazon Prime customers paid about half the price of German and British Amazon Prime customers up until now. Prime in Italy and Spain increases from €36 per year to €49.90, an increase of 39%. In France, the cost of a Prime subscription goes up from €49 to €69.90, an increase of 43%. The cost is still comparatively low when compared to the UK, German and US price.
Monthly Amazon Prime subscriptions go up as well in the countries, so that a yearly Prime membership is still cheaper than a monthly one. The pricing is still lower than that of Prime in the United States, where customers pay $139 per year or $14.99 per month. The change takes effect on September 15, 2022.
Amazon is citing "increased inflation and operating costs" according to Reuters.
What you may do about it
With costs of living exploding in many regions of the world, many may want to cut expenses. Some Amazon Prime customers may extend the membership by another year for the current price, but this depends on a number of factors:
- New customers or customers not subscribed to Prime may sign-up on September 14, 2022 to get the old price for an entire year.
- Existing customers who pay monthly may switch to a yearly plan in September to benefit from this as well.
- Existing customers whose subscription expires before September 2022 may also renew for the lower price.
Others may ask themselves whether Amazon Prime is worth it after September 2022. The answer depends on usage but also on whether you are prepared to make some changes.
One example: Amazon Prime customers get free shipping for most of the goods sold by Amazon. While that is excellent, especially if you make small purchases, non-Amazon Prime customers may get free shipping as well. Here in Germany, orders of €29 or more do get free shipping usually. You could combine orders to reach that amount, unless something is time critical. There may also be options to make purchases elsewhere, including buying local whenever possible.
Amazon Prime Video is another major part of a subscription. You get access to TV shows and movies that you may stream for free. The question that you may ask yourself is, whether it is really necessary to be subscribed to Amazon Prime for the entire year.
Content on streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, or Netflix is limited. The offered catalog of shows and movies is finite, and most subscribers will eventually reach a point of saturation.
One of the better options to deal with these streaming services is to subscribe to any of these services for a month or two each year. In the case of Amazon, that would also give you the opportunity to be a Prime member during Amazon Prime Day or during the Holiday season, provided that this is something that you are interested in.
A single month Amazon Prime subscription has a price of £8.99 in the UK after the price increase in September. A two-month subscription would be £19 roughly, which leaves a lot of cash for other streaming services or even paying shipping and handling on some items.
Now You: are you an Amazon Prime customer? What is your take on the price increase?
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