Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
Amazon starts charging shipping on perishable food orders under $150. This allows us to keep the price of our services low.
Beginning February 28, Prime members who want home delivery from Amazon Fresh will be charged a shipping fee of $9.95 on orders under $50. Orders between $50 and $100 include a $6.95 shipping charge, and orders between $100 and $150 incur a $3.95 shipping charge. Anyone can shop at AmazonFresh grocery stores, but only Prime members can use the delivery service, the company said in a note to customers seen by CNBC.
Amazon previously guaranteed Free delivery on Fresh orders over $35 for members of the $139/year Prime service.
“This service fee will better cover our grocery delivery costs and allow us to continue to provide a consistent, fast and high-quality delivery experience, thus keeping prices low at our online and brick-and-mortar grocers.” will help,” the notice said.
The move comes as Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has embarked on a broad overhaul of the company’s expenses amid slowing sales and a deteriorating economic outlook. Amazon laid off his 18,000 employees, froze corporate employee hiring, and suspended or canceled several projects such as sidewalk robots and telemedicine services.
Amazon previously recalibrated its approach to online grocery delivery, a business notoriously challenging from a cost and efficiency standpoint. 2021, Amazon Added A $10 service charge on Whole Foods delivery orders to Prime members that we previously offered at no additional charge.
look: How Whole Foods has changed in the five years since Amazon took over
