Amazon will raise the price of its Prime membership by $20 a year starting May 11, the company said during a conference call with investors on Thursday.
The increase will have members forking out $119 a year to make use of the shipping and entertainment package and comes on the heels of a price hike for monthly Prime subscribers that pushed fees from $10.99 to $12.99, Digital Trends reported.
"The value of Prime to customers has never been greater," said Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky, according to The Verge. "And the cost is also high, as we pointed out especially with shipping options and digital benefits, we continue to see rises in costs."
This is the first time that Amazon has increased its annual membership fee since 2014, and the new prices will take effect May 11 for new members and June 16 for existing ones.
The move may deter potential new subscribers, but it is likely to impact current members the most.
Amazon has 100 million Prime members, and profits that have doubled in a year, Digital Trends noted.
The retail giant’s sales saw a 43 percent increase over last year, which works out to a total of $51 billion in sales and a net income of $1.6 billion, National Public Radio noted.
The company said it was working on several projects and cited improved features as the reason behind the Prime membership price hike, CNN said.
There are a few other surprises in the works, which Amazon announced this week.
According to Digital Trends, the company has inked a deal with the National Football League to stream Thursday night football games online.
There are also plans in the works to have Whole Foods grocery orders delivered to the doorsteps of subscribers.
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