Amazon raises its rates in the United States for the third time. According to the tech giant, this is necessary as the company had to deal with higher labor costs as a result of more income. The increase will take effect on March 25, 2022.
Prime subscription rate increase
The rate is increased by $20 per year and applies to existing and new members. That means the price will rise from $119 to $139. On a monthly basis, that is an increase of two dollars, the monthly amount goes from 12.99 to 14.99 dollars. In the Benelux you currently pay 2.99 euros for a month of Amazon Prime.
According to the latest quarterly figures of the company, the increased wage costs are the cause of the rate increase. Amazon received more orders and therefore had to recruit more staff. Since there is a very tight labor market, this resulted in high wage costs. In the United States it is difficult to find people who want to deliver the packages.
Increase in turnover
In the fourth quarter of 2021, Amazon saw its turnover increase to 137.4 billion dollars (120 billion euros). That is 9% more than in the same period of 2020. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have been a major contributor to this sales increase. In 2021, Amazon achieved $470 billion in sales and net profit was $33.4 billion.
Thursday Night Football
According to IGN Benelux Amazon has faced even more high costs. For example, the tech giant has paid the American National Football League (NFL) $1 billion for the broadcasting rights to Thursday Night Football. In addition, The Boys, Wheel of Time and Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power some examples of precious exclusive series that can be seen via Amazon Prime Video. Amazon also bought the rights to Lord of the Rings in 2017 for $200 million. The first season of the series reportedly cost the company over $465 million to produce. This makes it one of the most expensive TV series ever made.
– Thanks for information from Androidworld. Source