Is Amazon Prime's price increase worth keeping the service?
Right before The Lord of the Rings, too.
On Thursday, Amazon caused quite a stir when it announced its plans to raise the price of its Prime membership. As part of Amazon's Q4 2021 earnings report, it said the yearly cost of Amazon Prime was increasing by $20 to $139 per year. The monthly fee goes up by $2 to $14.99, or $180 for 12 months. It's important to note that the company reported revenue of more than $137 billion in Q4 2021 alone.
So is the price increase enough for you to ditch Amazon?
Poll: Are you sticking with Amazon Prime after the price hike?
Amazon attributes the price increase to rising costs fueled by inflation, not to mention raising its average employee wage to $18 per hour to combat its labor troubles. Amazon CFO Andy Jassy also stated that the company hasn't increased its subscription price since 2018.
Notably, this price increase comes ahead of the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power TV series that will begin streaming on Prime Video in September. The company is reportedly pumping as much as $1 billion into the show, which will be available for Prime Video subscribers. The company could entice fans to keep their subscriptions just from the show's marketing alone or even convince others to finally subscribe.
Of course, there are plenty of other benefits to the Amazon Prime subscription, such as shipping perks, exclusive deals, and discounts to other Amazon services like Prime Music Unlimited, which is one of the best music streaming services thanks to its high-quality audio. The question is whether or not you think Amazon should charge consumers more despite making nearly $500 billion in 2021.
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What's it worth to you?
Amazon Prime members enjoy free delivery on items, often with one-day or two-day shipping options. They also get free two-hour grocery deliveries and access to Prime Video streaming service with tons of movies and shows.