Amazon has launched a cheaper Prime Lite subscription in India that could be a sign of things to come in the UK.
The online retailer is said to be exploring other schemes closer to home - and this is a big clue as to how those changes could impact customers.
While the new plan costs just a fraction of regular Prime, you’ll have to be prepared to make some big sacrifices to use it.
Firstly, Prime Lite is only available as a year-long subscription for the equivalent of £9.52 in India, though you can expect to pay more if it comes to the UK. Normally, Prime costs £2.85 per month or £14.28 for 12 months in the South Asian country.
You also have to wait longer for items to turn up, with free two-day delivery versus same-day delivery on eligible items on Prime.
The other major change involves Prime Video. On Prime Lite, Amazon will make you sit through ads on its streaming service.
The move sees the company following in rival Netflix’s footsteps. Customers will probably be hoping it doesn’t go one further and start cracking down on password-sharing, too.
Another restriction is that you can only watch in HD, not better quality UHD (aka 4K). In addition, you can only stream on mobile, and on two devices at a time.
Mobile-only plans are actually fairly common in India. In 2019, Netflix also launched a cheaper subscription that limited people to streaming on their phones.
Prime Lite also cuts you off from a slew of other perks including Prime Reading, Amazon Music and Prime Gaming.
Amazon hasn’t said whether Prime Lite will come to more markets.
But we do know that it is close to introducing adverts to Prime Video in the US. Putting them in a cheaper plan instead of forcing them on existing subscribers would make sense.
Talk of the new offerings comes in the wake of mass layoffs at Amazon as part of cost-cutting measures.
The e-commerce leader also lost almost 600,000 Prime subscribers in the UK ahead of a price rise last year, according to Ofcom. A cheaper plan could be a way to entice them back into the fold.
Amazon announced an increase in its Prime fee by £1 a month to £9 last July.
