Amazon is increasing the price of its Prime service for UK customers.
From September, monthly subscriptions will increase from £1 to £8.99 and annual memberships from £79 to £95.
Amazon said the price hike was the first in the UK since 2014 and was due to “increased inflation and operating costs”.
Other services like Netflix have also increased subscription prices due to rising costs.
Prime services offer unlimited delivery of products and entertainment streaming services.
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Amazon said the new pricing will start from September or the next customer’s membership renewal date — and that switching to an annual plan or canceling the membership is also an option.
Increasing competition in the entertainment streaming industry has resulted in more deals for customers, which has resulted in competitive prices.
But there are now pressures from rising production costs amid UK inflation at a record 9.4%.
New research suggests that the rising cost of living in the UK has prompted households to cancel their streaming subscriptions.
But Amazon said it has invested billions of pounds in its content in recent years, with original series such as The Terminal List and Clarkson’s Farm.
It’s also investing millions in the sport, including successfully bidding for the rights to broadcast Tuesday night’s Champions League football matches from 2024.
It already has exclusive rights to 20 Premier League matches per season, including the full round of matches on and around Boxing Day each year. And it has a five-year deal to broadcast the US Open tennis tournament exclusively in the UK.
The price hike comes months after Netflix increased the price of its plans in 2021 and 2022. It warned shareholders that another two million subscribers were likely to leave in the three months to July.
Although lockdowns meant a surge in subscriptions for platforms like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Kantar researchers said the proportion of consumers planning to cancel subscriptions cited “saving money” as the main reason . had risen to its highest level ever.
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