Prime members will only need to spend $100 to qualify for free delivery on Amazon Fresh orders starting later this week.
The free delivery threshold was increased to $150 for Prime members in February, but as Business Insider reports, a leaked internal document suggests the spend limit is dropping to $100. Following the leak, Claire Peters, Amazon's worldwide VP of Amazon Fresh, confirmed that the reduction is happening on Thursday.
Peters told Insider, "Prime membership continues to be an enormous value and this change will save members even more on grocery delivery fees, while also allowing them to enjoy added savings, convenience, and entertainment with Prime."
Until February, Amazon was only charging delivery for Fresh orders totaling less than $35 or $50, depending on where you live. With the limit raised to $150, the delivery charges are currently $3.95 for orders $100-$150, $6.95 for orders $50-$100, and $9.95 for orders under $50. The leaked document states Amazon will just remove the $3.95 charge and keep the other two once the spend limit reduces to $100 on Thursday.
Amazon argued that increasing the threshold to $150 earlier this year would help keep prices down on Amazon Fresh amid inflation. The decision to lower the threshold by $50 suggests Amazon has either managed to save money elsewhere, or the threshold was too high and it was hurting grocery sales.
We also need to keep in mind that the price of a Prime subscription increased last year, and with inflation remaining high, the cost of some of Amazon's individual services are likely to increase in the near future. We've already seen on example of this, with Amazon Prime Video requiring subscribers to pay more if they don't want to see ads starting in early 2024.