What's New On Amazon Prime? 18 Percent Price Hike Coming Soon

Amazon announced on Friday a new price hike on Prime memberships for people who pay the monthly fee instead of the upfront annual payment.

Amazon Prime includes free two-day deliveries, discounts on overnight shipping, access to Prime Music, Prime Video, Prime Reading and other perks, like cloud services.

U.S. Amazon Prime customers on the monthly plan currently pay $10.99. The new price will now be $12.99, the company announced. The $2 price hike will bring the total annual cost to $156 instead of $132, a $24 increase. Meanwhile, the price of the discounted Prime Student monthly plans has increased by a dollar, from $5.49 to $6.49. Amazon said current monthly Prime and Prime Student customers will start paying the new price for renewals after Feb. 18.

The annual upfront charge will remain unchanged. The yearly fee is currently $99, which means monthly Prime members will soon pay $57 extra with the new price hike. Amazon Prime Student members will continue to pay the $49 annual fee.

Amazon Prime’s standalone video membership will continue at its $8.99 monthly price. The Prime membership plan for customers on government assistance, which was introduced last June, will remain at $5.99 a month. That plan also includes Amazon Prime free two-day shipping, video and music streaming services, Prime Reading and unlimited photo storage with Prime Photos.

Amazon’s monthly plan for Prime was introduced less than two years ago. The option was launched for people who could not afford to pay the $99 annual fee at once, or who didn’t want to get stuck with one-year plans. The monthly plan allows customers to cancel at anytime.

A study released last year by researcher Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) estimates that there are 90 million U.S.-based Amazon Prime subscribers. Amazon does not reveal how many Prime members it holds, but the company did say it added many customers to the service over the recent holiday season. The online retailer said more than four million people started their free trials or paid memberships in one week alone during the holiday shopping season.

Amazon has also had success with its Prime Now service. The company said items shipped with free one-day, same-day delivery or Ultra-Fast deliveries with Prime Now more than doubled this holiday season. Amazon also said millions of Amazon Prime members voice shopped with Alexa for items, including everyday household essentials during that time frame. Members also took advantage of offers on Amazon, shopping more than 100,000 Lightning Deals with Prime Early Access.

Getting people to sign up to Amazon Prime fares well to the company, the CIRP study found. The report says Prime customers tend to be loyal, with 95 percent of current subscribers saying they’ll either “definitely” or “probably” renew their membership. Prime customers also spend more. The study estimates that Amazon Prime subscribers spend $1,300 per year. That’s almost double the $700 non-members spend on Amazon each year.