Amazon Prime memberships are about to get a bit more expensive
Amazon Prime is hard to resist between its access to thousands of TV shows, movies and songs on demand and its invaluable free (even same day) shipping. But all of these luxuries are about to get slightly more expensive after Amazon announced their membership fees are about to go up.
Read more: Amazon reveals Prime membership numbers—and it’s massive
According to TechCrunch, Amazon recently reported a 7 percent growth in its company with numbers continuing to increase. Despite the continued growth, Amazon's cheif financial officer Brian Olsavsky announced the price of an annual Amazon Prime membership would soon increase from $99 to $119. Prices are expected to jump up on May 11 for new subscriptions, with the price increase for subscription renewals making the jump on June 16. The price for Amazon Prime Student will also increase from $49 to $59. Pay-by-month members already noticed a price increase back in January with the increase from $10.99 to $12.99 per month.
This is not the first time Amazon has increased the price for their services. Back in 2014 memberships jumped from $79 to $99 for regular users and $39 to $49 for users of Prime Student.
“Since we increased the annual price of Prime four years ago both the value of Prime and the cost to offer it have increased significantly,” Amazon said in a statement to TechCrunch.
Analyst Doug Anmuth added that he does not believe consumers will be too upset over the price increase. “We do not expect the company to get much of a pushback from consumers given the increasing value of the service,” CNBC reported.
Business Insider laid out the pros of having an Amazon Prime subscription with an extensive list that shows the price is still worth the value. Free shipping is by far the biggest perk, but members also receive access to Amazon's library of movies and TV shows, Prime Reading books for Kindle, Prime Music streaming, access to Twitch Prime and so much more.
While these may seem like exellent perks on the surface, Business Insider also noted that while Prime Music offers two million songs its premium service costs an additional $7.99 per month for Prime users. Amazon Video also struggles to stack up against the likes of Hulu and Netflix, with many shows and movies only available to rent or buy.
While $119 may be hard to swing for some, it's definitely still a deal for those who shop Amazon frequently.
Will you continue to use Amazon Prime despite the price increase? Do you think Prime is still worth the price jump? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
