As part of the publication of the figures for the last quarter (Q4 2021) on February 3, 2022, Amazon announced that it would increase the price of the Prime subscription in the USA later this month – by a whole 20 US dollars. This means that the subscription no longer costs 119 US dollars per year as before, but is now 139 US dollars.
More wage payments, more transport costs and a broader Prime offer
The price for the monthly subscription increases accordingly from US$12.95 to US$14.95. For new customers, this regulation comes into effect on February 18, 2022, existing customers only have to pay the higher price from March 25, 2022.
Amazon justifies this decision in its report for the past quarter as follows: “As Amazon continues to expand the benefits of a Prime membership as well as the increase in wage payments and transportation costs, Amazon will increase the price of a Prime membership in the US, [
].” Most recently, Prime costs for US customers increased from $99 annually to $119 in 2018.
According to Omikron, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is a problem
The price increase is in the context of the turn of the year and the pandemic. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is quoted in the quarterly report as saying: “As expected, costs increased over the holiday season due to labor shortages and inflationary pressures. These problems continued into the first quarter due to Omikron. Despite these recent challenges, we remain optimistic and look forward to doing business [nach der Pandemie].”
At the time of announcing the price increase in the US, Amazon has not announced any plans for price increases in other countries. It is therefore possible that customers in Germany will be spared a price increase because of Omikron. Prime members in Germany currently pay EUR 69 a year or EUR 7.99 a month, which is significantly less than in the USA. There are cheaper special tariffs for students, trainees and those who are exempt from broadcasting fees. The last price increase in Germany took place in 2017, previously customers had paid 49 euros a year for the normal tariff.
Amazon will generate $33.3 billion in revenue in 2021
Despite – or because of – the pandemic, Amazon was able to record large revenues in the last quarter: Amazon earned around 14.3 billion US dollars worldwide. For the full fiscal year, that figure is $33.3 billion, with North America making $279.8 billion in sales and the rest of the world shopping on Amazon for a total of $127.8 billion.
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