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Due to rising operating expenses, Amazon Prime will increase the cost of its Prime program for UK subscribers. From September, annual membership will cost £95 instead of £79, and monthly fees will increase from £1 to £8.99.
The price increase, Amazon’s first in the UK since 2014, was partially attributed to inflation, which is at a 40-year high. Despite indications that customers are starting to reduce their use of streaming services, other firms, including Netflix, have also raised their subscription costs.
However, Amazon Prime provides more than simply its streaming service. Additionally, Prime offers limitless merchandise deliveries. Amazon stated that the new pricing would take effect in September or at the customer’s subsequent membership renewal date and that both moving to an annual plan and canceling membership were options.
The decision was made at a time when many people are trying to reduce their expenditure since the cost of products is rising at the quickest rate in 40 years.
After raising its costs for Prime in the US in February, retail analyst Natalie Berg, who has published a book on how Amazon will affect the future of buying, said the price increase for Prime was “not really a surprise.”
According to a BBC-commissioned survey released earlier this year, people are skipping meals and driving as much to save money. The 4,011 respondents, or 56%, reported buying fewer goods and skipping meals.
According to recent data, the growing cost of living is prompting more people to cancel their memberships to video streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime.
According to market research company Kantar, 1.66 million services were canceled in the second quarter of 2022, with people under 24 being the most likely to do so.
More than a third of cancellations were related to cost-cutting, with “wanting to save money” cited as the main justification.
Can I get a discount on my Amazon Prime subscription?
Even if it’s only an extra pound a month, there are a few ways to reduce the increase, as everyone is currently trying to restrict their expenditures.
Since most individuals subscribe to Amazon Prime on a monthly basis, the price increase will take effect in the middle of September. However, if you have the money on hand, you can save by prepaying for a full year’s subscription before that time. Doing so will secure the lower pricing until 2023 and save around £30.
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Even if you don’t think you’re a member of Prime, it’s a good idea to double-check because it’s simple to accidentally click “join” while making a purchase and become a member without realizing it.
Look at your subscriptions closely. After receiving a lot of pressure, Amazon has made it simpler to identify and use the cancellation process for your monthly Prime membership. They ought to reimburse you if you had just recently made a payment for that month. If you opt to sign up again later, you might even be able to receive one month for free, saving you that £8.99.
Consider rotating your TV subscriptions if you have many. Switch them, so you’re only paying for one at a time. Perhaps your summer fling is with one provider, while your Christmas fix is with another. Instead of paying for each service year-round, binge-watch, terminate your membership, and switch to a different provider.
The fierce rivalry in the streaming market has resulted in aggressive customer discounts and offers. However, Netflix raised the cost of its plans in 2021 and 2022. In addition, it recently revealed that between April and July, it had lost nearly a million customers and has now experienced a two-quarter losing streak.
Ms. Berg stated that because free goods shipping is the brand’s primary service, Amazon Prime could not be directly compared to Netflix and other streaming services.
With original programs like The Terminal List and Clarkson’s Farm, Amazon claimed to have invested billions of pounds in streaming programming recently.
After winning the bid to broadcast Champions League football games on Tuesday nights starting in 2024, it has also entered the sports broadcasting industry.
Amazon already owns the exclusive rights to 20 Premier League games each season, including the complete slate of games that take place on and around Boxing Day every year. Additionally, it has a five-year agreement to broadcast the US Open tennis competition in the UK exclusively.
