For the time being, Amazon Prime members may get free grocery delivery via the company’s Fresh service for purchases of $35 or more. Even for individuals who live alone, it’s a sensible and reasonably priced minimum purchase need. However, from February 28th, individuals will have to add a lot more products to their basket if they do not want to pay an additional fee to have their purchase delivered to their door. According to The Verge, the e-commerce giant has changed its Fresh groceries website to state that only purchases totalling $150 or more would be delivered free within a two-hour window by the end of next month.
Those between $100 and $150 will be delivered for $4, while orders between $50 and $100 will be charged a $7 service fee. If a customer’s purchases total less than $50, they must pay a staggering $10. Because the Fresh service is only accessible to Amazon Prime users, who increased its yearly charge to $139 from $119 last year, it will become a significantly more expensive choice by March.
According to a company spokesperson, it is “introducing a service fee on some Amazon Fresh delivery orders to help keep prices low in [its] online and physical grocery stores as [it] better covers [grocery delivery costs and continues to enable offering a consistent, fast, and high-quality delivery experience.” “We will continue to provide convenient two-hour delivery windows for all purchases,” the representative said, “and consumers in selected regions will be able to pick a longer delivery window for a discounted charge.”
"Customers with an EBT card will continue to receive free grocery delivery on orders more than $150."
Uh, the average benefit a single person gets is only $197 *FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH*. This price-hike for delivery fees is going to hurt low-income disabled folks horribly.
— Megan E. Doherty, PhD (@MeganEDoherty) January 27, 2023
According to that remark, if Amazon does not collect delivery costs, it may raise supermarket prices. However, consumers will wind up paying more anyhow – many people can’t afford its $150 minimum demand these days, and those who can not be able to eat all they purchased before the food goes bad or is no longer, well, fresh. Amazon has begun informing customers about the increased service prices through email, and some social media users are pointing out how absurd the price increase for free shipping is.
Customers, particularly those on the government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), have grown to depend on Amazon Fresh for food delivery since the epidemic began. Persons with SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) debit cards may purchase via Fresh even if they do not have a Prime membership, making it an excellent (and in some instances, the only) alternative for people with disabilities. However, they would now have to pay an additional fee on top of their purchase. According to Amazon, they will be unable to use their EBT cards to pay for the delivery price and will be required to offer another form of payment.
