Amazon Raises Price Minimum for Free Online Grocery Delivery

Currently, Prime members outside of New York City who spend more than $35 on Amazon Fresh grocery orders qualify for free delivery. In the city, the threshold is $50 for free delivery. Customers who order less than that pay a delivery fee of $4.99. 

The new fees are meant to help keep prices low and maintain consistent and fast deliveries, according to Amazon. 

“We will continue to offer convenient two-hour delivery windows for all orders, and customers in some areas will be able to select a longer delivery window for a reduced fee,” a spokeswoman said.

Amazon users who pay $139 annually for Prime membership will still get free grocery delivery for online Amazon Fresh orders above $150. 

The new fee scale comes two months after the online retail giant announced a round of layoffs in a cost-cutting measure. 

As many as 10,000 workers, mainly concentrated in Amazon’s devices business, recruiting and retail operations, were likely to be affected, the company said at the time. 

In early January, the Seattle-based company increased that number and said layoffs could affect more than 18,000 employees.

Many tech companies have cut jobs in recent months as companies recalibrate their head counts and tighten their belts amid concerns about a slowing economy.  

Job cuts at the start of the year included

Facebook

parent Meta Platforms Inc., Twitter Inc., Google parent

Alphabet Inc.,

Microsoft Corp.

and

International Business Machines Corp.

The broader labor market has continued to add jobs, but growth has slowed. U.S. economic growth cooled to a 2.9% annual rate in the fourth quarter, capping a year of high inflation and rising interest rates.

Write to Ginger Adams Otis at [email protected]