Amazon will charge US Prime members delivery fees for Fresh grocery orders under $150 from February 28, changing its free delivery policy on orders over $35
here's how to avoid them Carrie Mihalcik / CNET : Amazon Fresh Grocery Delivery Is Going to Cost More Starting Next Month Bethany Biron / Insider : Amazon will start charging Prime members up to $10 in delivery fees on grocery orders under $150 The Information : Amazon Fresh Hikes Grocery Delivery Fees Tweets: Matt Day / @mattmday : Getting Food to your Doorstep is Expensive, Cont'd: https://www.bloomberg.com/... Gotta think “free grocery delivery on orders of $35+” was among the most valuable Prime perks. Bar's a lot higher a month from now.
Context & Ripple Effects
Amazon had previously widened Fresh’s reach by removing its standalone monthly Fresh charge and making delivery a Prime benefit in thousands of U.S. cities. The new threshold reverses that broad free-delivery position for smaller baskets.
The change also follows Whole Foods’ nationwide delivery fee, showing Amazon separating Prime membership from fully subsidized grocery fulfillment across both grocery brands.
First-order effects
- Prime members placing Amazon Fresh orders below $150 face variable delivery fees of up to $10, replacing free delivery on orders of $35 or more.
- Amazon Fresh raises the order value required to avoid delivery charges, making small and mid-sized grocery orders less attractive under the Prime benefit.
Second-order effects
- Amazon Fresh customers have a direct incentive to consolidate purchases into larger baskets, shifting the service’s economics toward orders that better absorb delivery costs.
- Amazon’s Fresh and Whole Foods delivery offers become more explicitly price-tiered, with Prime providing access rather than a blanket waiver of fulfillment charges.
Third-order effects
- If Amazon continues pairing delivery access with order thresholds and fees, online grocery is likely to be monetized as a distinct service layer rather than treated as an unlimited Prime perk.
- The later expansion of grocery delivery to non-Prime customers reinforces a model in which grocery delivery is sold to a broader customer base with differentiated pricing and membership terms.
The trend: Amazon is moving grocery delivery from a broadly subsidized Prime benefit toward tiered access and order-based monetization.