(New York) Amazon has quietly increased the amount some customers must spend on its site to qualify for free shipping.
To qualify for free shipping, some Amazon customers who don’t have a Prime membership now need to spend a minimum of $35, up from $25 previously.
Amazon spokeswoman Kristina Pressentin confirmed the company is testing the new condition, which was first reported by eCommerce blog Bytes. The change does not affect Prime members who pay $14.99 per month, or $139 per year, for free shipping and other perks.
“We continually evaluate our offerings and make adjustments based on those evaluations,” Ms. Presentin said.
For now, the new $35 minimum appears to apply to customers based on where they live, consumer education website Consumer World said Monday. Among other cities, Seattle, where Amazon is headquartered, still imposes a $25 minimum, while customers who don’t have the Prime membership in nearby Bellevue must pay $35 for free shipping.
The move comes as the online retail giant strives to cut costs across different areas of its business. The company cut more than 27,000 jobs in the past year and got rid of unprofitable lines of business.
Earlier this year, the company ended free grocery delivery for Prime members on orders under $150.
In the past, Amazon has raised the order threshold for free shipping up to $49. It lowered it to $25 in 2017 as Walmart ramped up its e-commerce operations.
