Binge watching series, streaming music and bagging free next day deliveries is all going to cost more after Amazon announced a price hike for its Prime service.
The online retail giant will increase the price of Prime from £7.99 each month to £8.99 from September 15 for new customers, or on the date of the customer’s next renewal.
Annual membership will increase from £79 to £95 per year in the UK.
That means free unlimited delivery, entertainment streaming and live sport through the Prime service is all going to be dearer from the autumn.
Why is Amazon Prime going up in price?
Amazon is citing inflation and the cost of living as the main cause for the Prime price increase.
Consumer price index inflation currently stands at 9.4%.
When inflation rises, it means that money doesn’t go as far as it used to - a factor impacting the budgets of both consumers and retailers.
The price rise by the company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos is going to be widely felt in the UK.
According to stats website statista.com, the number of households in the UK with an Amazon Prime Video subscription grew to around 13.35 million in the first quarter of 2022.
What has Amazon said about the Prime price rise?
A spokeswoman for Amazon said “increased inflation and operating costs” in the UK meant it was going to need to "change the price of Prime”.
The firm said that subscribers would still be getting the “best of shopping and entertainment” as part of the package.
“We have increased the number of products available with fast, unlimited Prime delivery, recently added ultra-fast fresh grocery delivery, and have significantly expanded our high-quality digital entertainment, including TV, movies, music, games, and books,” the spokeswoman said.
Amazon has pumped billions of pounds into its streaming content in recent years.
In September, the Prime Video platform will release The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power series, which cost an estimated £750 million in rights and filming costs.
The company is also investing millions into sports rights, having earlier this month secured the rights to show some Champions League matches from 2024, adding to its rights for 20 Premier League games each season.
The Prime price increase is the service’s first since 2014.
Martin Lewis’ tip for avoiding the Amazon Prime price hike
Consumer champion Martin Lewis, the founder of the MoneySavingExpert website, said paying up front for 12 months of Amazon Prime is a way of avoiding the extra fee for a year.
Currently, paying £79 a year in one go is almost £21 cheaper than paying monthly, which amounts to £95.88.
The new monthly fee of £8.99 will set subscribers back £107.88 per year.
Mr Lewis is advising that paying the full whack of £79 before the next monthly instalment is due - or before September 15 for new customers - would amount to a massive saving of nearly £30 on the new price.
Mr Lewis told Twitter followers: "If you currently pay monthly, and want to keep it, if you can afford to switch to annual now, get next year at £79.”
His money hack means that users will avoid the increase for a year and make the most of current prices.
