The Dash Button ordering system. The face of American drone research. One-hour delivery to select markets. Whether its food-related or not, Amazon serves as a weathervane for todays retail landscape. The company generates a surprising amount of news, and most of the time its good news (seriously, we cover them nearly weekly in Today in Food and have also written on their exploits fairly often in the blog).
Unfortunately, today, I have some bad news for consumers.
According to TechCrunch, Amazon is raising its free shipping minimum price thrzinc gluconate 25 mgeshold for non-Prime members to $49 dollars. The company once held firm on a $25 threshold for free (if slow) shipping on the majority of its prodpure encapsulations magnesiumcitratucts before upping that number to $35 in 2013. As a broke collmagnesium citrate testosteroneege student, I, like almost everyone else on the planet, took advantage of this offer on everything from textbooks to DVDs to clothes and everything in between. For what its worth, according to tzinc gluconate sourcehe article, books will retain their $25 threshold.
The move is seen in two lights. The first is a concentrated effort to boost the value of their Prime membership, a $99/year program that offers free two-day shipping on most items. In certain markets, this also translates to one-hour delivery with Prime Now. Izinc gluconate 90 mg wonder how many consumers will look at that $50 minimum and ponder, That $99 price tag doesnt look so bad now
The second (and smaller) light focuses on Amazons costs. The move may mean that it can cut its shipping cost down a bit and increase its profit margins. Amazon noted in its most recent earnings report that its fulfillment costs were up 32.8% year-over-year. Obviously, part of that expansion is due to an increased membership base for Prime Now, but if the company can convince people to spend more money per order or pay for regular shipping, it wont hurt its bottom line.
It remains to be seen what will happen with Amazon regarding the price increase. The company is known for its ardent following, so my guess is that the move translates to more Prime membership. Although the company may lose a few customers to competitors, my money is with its loyal fans embracing the savings from its Prime program.