Amazon.com Inc raised the monthly fee for its fast-shipping and video-streaming service Amazon Prime by nearly 20 percent, but maintained the yearly rate.
The monthly Amazon Prime membership will now cost $12.99 from $10.99 previously, an increase of 18 percent. The fee of $99 for an annual membership will not change, the company said on its website on Friday.
The Seattle-based company started offering the monthly payment option about two years ago in a bid to attract shoppers, who wanted faster shipping especially during the holiday season.
Prime has offered a great boost to the Amazon's delivery channel, resulting in Prime members buying from Amazon more frequently than non-Prime members and also spending more.
Also Read: Malaysian man arrested in KL for duping Singaporean of S$5.4 mln
Besides free two-day shipping, Prime members get access to Amazon's video and music streaming services.
Students will also see their discounted monthly subscription jump from $5.49 to $6.49, an 18 percent increase.
The monthly Prime Video membership fee, which doesn't include shipping benefits, was maintained at $8.99.
As of September, Amazon had about 90 million Prime members in the United States, according to research firm Statista. Amazon doesn't disclose its Prime membership data.
Rival Netflix has 52.77 million subscribers in the United States.
