Amazon is increasing the price for its annual Prime membership from $119 to $139 for the first time since 2018, the company announced Thursday along with its fourth-quarter earnings report.
The monthly subscription will also go up from $12.99 to $14.99. The increases will go into effect Feb. 18, but current members will see the new rate after March 25.
The company cited “expansion of Prime member benefits,” and rising wages and transportation costs as the reasons for the price hike. The announcement came after the company spent billions of dollars on video and music content for its streaming services.
Meanwhile, Amazon reported $14.3 billion in profit last quarter, nearly double what it made in 2020. Shares of Amazon also rose more than 18% after the company released the report, according to CNBC.
“Given the extraordinary growth we saw in 2020 when customers predominantly stayed home, and the fact that we’ve continued to grow on top of that in 2021, our Retail teammates have effectively operated in peak mode for almost two years,” said Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO, in a statement.
Amazon Prime isn’t the only service that will increase its rates. Prices for all items in the consumer price index rose 7% last year, the largest rise in 40 years.
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