LONDON: Amazon, the e-commerce giant, is rolling out a fresh policy that will introduce a same-day delivery fee for Amazon Prime members when their order totals less than £20.

Subscribers who already pay a monthly fee for the Prime service will now be required to pay an additional £1.99 if they wish to have their order delivered on the same day, provided it falls below the specified threshold. The upcoming change is slated to take effect on September 18, 2023.

Prime members were reportedly notified about the new fee via an email communication from Amazon. The email clarified that at checkout, the option for same-day delivery can be selected, but orders below £20 will incur a fee of £1.99 for the expedited service. Conversely, non-Prime customers will continue to be charged a delivery fee of £5.99.

Until now, Amazon Prime customers had enjoyed the perk of free same-day delivery for eligible items, contingent on placing the order by 12pm, or 1pm in Scotland. This service operates for the majority of the year, with certain holidays and peak shopping days having an earlier order deadline.

An Amazon spokesperson highlighted the company’s ongoing commitment to enhancing customer experience: “Prime members enjoy fast, free One-Day Delivery on millions of items. We are constantly innovating to deliver a wide selection of great value products at the fastest speeds, and more than a million items are now available for Same-Day Delivery in the UK.”

The spokesperson continued, “Prime Members can receive Same-Day deliveries where available for free on select orders over £20, or for £1.99 if the total order is below £20. All orders will now be delivered to Prime members with the fastest available free option by default.”

Amazon’s monthly Prime subscription currently costs £8.99 and provides members with a bundle of benefits including unlimited ‘Premium Delivery’, access to unlimited music streaming, unlimited photo storage, unlimited reading material, and Prime Video entertainment. This move to introduce a same-day delivery fee for lower order values signals Amazon’s strategic adjustments to their premium service offerings.

Amazon to charge 2% fee for sellers who ship their own products