Amazon is reportedly introducing a free delivery option on small items with no minimum spend restrictions.
Currently, if you want to purchase an item from Amazon’s vast online store and escape the delivery charges, you’d need to be an Amazon Prime member. Alternatively, you’d need to spend at least $35 in the US (£20 in the UK).
Amazon’s new scheme is seeing such restrictions removed on – at least in the US. Items weighing less that 230g can now be shipped singularly to US customers in four to eight days for free from a new Kentucky warehouse hub.
The program is called Fulfillment by Amazon Small and Light.
Apparently, Amazon trialled the new scheme several months ago, and found that items without the normal minimum spend restriction sold in much higher numbers.
It seems sitting there figuring out which inconsequential item you ‘need’ to push the total up past the minimum spend limit doesn’t appeal much to people. Who would have thought it?
Related: Amazon Kindle (2014) review
Bloomberg has revealed that offering free shipping on small items won’t make Amazon any more profitable. Rather, it’s designed to gain market share from major retail giants in the US, such as Wal-Mart and Target.
Presumably Amazon will be looking to bring the programme to the UK at some point, given our own competitive online retail market. However, the company only raised its minimum spend requirement to £20 back in April, so don’t hold your breath for it.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
