The cost of an Amazon Prime membership for existing members went up Friday. It's the second price increase by the company in the last four years.
Amazon announced on Feb. 3 that it was raising the annual fee from $119 to $139, an increase of $20. The monthly fee goes from $12.99 to $14.99, which amounts to $24 more per year. The new fee will be applied on members' renewal date.
The price change went into effect on Feb. 18 for new Prime members.
"In the last few years, Amazon has added more product selection available with fast, free, unlimited Prime shipping; more exclusive deals and discounts; and more high-quality digital entertainment, including TV, movies, music, and books," Amazon said in a press release announcing the price increase.
The company last increased Prime membership fees in 2018.
As the new price of Prime was reported, the company announced an income of $14.3 billion, or $27.75 per share, for the three-month period ended Dec. 31, 2021. That's nearly double the income of $7.2 billion, or $14.09 per share, reported during the same period in 2020.
Revenue rose 9% to $137.4 billion, Amazon's fifth consecutive quarter of revenue topping $100 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet on average expected $137.7 billion in quarterly revenue and per-share earnings of $3.61 per share.
The Associated Press also reported Amazon was one of the only retailers that gained profits amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Stores selling non-essential goods temporarily or permanently closed and people at home shopped on Amazon for an abundance of things from groceries to cleaning supplies.
Meanwhile, the company is facing obstacles as workers are attempting to form the first union at an Amazon facility. Warehouse workers in Staten Island started voting on a union Friday. Another Staten Island location is set to vote starting April 25.
Employees at another company warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, are now casting mail ballots for a union election, with a tally expected to begin on Monday. Last year, workers at the Alabama facility voted against unionizing. Federal labor officials scrapped the results and ordered a re-do in November, ruling the Seattle-based online retail giant had tainted the results.