Amazon is offering shoppers $10 to pick up purchases in-store as delivery costs soar

Sawdah Bhaimiya
Updated ·2 min read
2

  • Amazon is offering some shoppers $10 to collect purchases in-store, rather than having them delivered.

  • The e-commerce giant is among a number of retailers who are rethinking free shipping options.

  • It recently tacked on a $10 fee for grocery orders under $150.

Amazon is offering shoppers $10 to collect their purchases in-store rather than getting them delivered as shipping costs soar, Reuters reported Monday.

A number of Amazon Prime subscribers — those who pay a membership to have free shipping — received emails promising them $10 to pick up orders that cost $25 or more at pickup points like Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods, or Kohl's, per Reuters. Kohl's partnered up with Amazon in 2019 to accept Amazon returns at its stores.

New York-based shipping consultant Dean Maciuba – who was one of the customers that received the offer – told Reuters: It's "a huge opportunity for Amazon to reduce the cost of delivery," while also training consumers to become accustomed to returning items in-store.

A spokesperson for Amazon told Insider that the $10 pickup promotion is a "long-running program as a benefit to customers who want to try a convenient and secure offering to pick up their packages."

"We offer customers a variety of ways to get their packages, inclusive of delivery and pickup options," the spokesperson added.

The e-commerce giant is among a number of retailers including Zara, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Foot Locker who are rethinking free shipping options.

In recent months, Amazon has made changes to its delivery and returns offering due to rising costs. This includes hiking up the price of its annual Prime subscription by $20 to $139, tacking on a delivery fee of up to $10 on any grocery orders under $150, and charging a $1 fee on some returns made via UPS.

Some prime subscribers had taken to social media to complain about these changes, per Reuters. One of them, 48-year-old New York middle school teacher Bryan Fabiano told the news site that he's questioning the value of Prime as a result.

He said: "My wife and I are Prime customers because of the shipping (benefits). If they're not going to deliver on that, then what are we paying for?"

Read the original article on Business Insider