Amazon Prime same-day delivery charge 2023 explained

Prime members will soon pay £1.99 if they want to receive small orders on the same day.

Amazon will soon start charging millions of Amazon Prime customers for same-day delivery on orders of less than £20.

At present, Prime customers who live in an area where the service is offered can get items delivered that day for free – provided they order before 1pm.

But, from 18 September, the online retail giant will start charging £1.99.

For non-Prime customers, the fee will remain at £5.99.

It’s important to note that same-day delivery will never be the default option when selecting a delivery date so at least you don’t have to worry about accidentally incurring the charge.

Thousands of Prime shoppers received the email which outlines the new charge for the retailer’s same-day service, which sees items delivered as long as they are ordered by 1 pm.

Any customer who spends less than £20 will now be charged for the service, despite paying £8.99 a month for Prime delivery.

The new charge comes less than a year after customers were hit with a whopping 20% hike to their Prime membership fee.

What does Amazon say about the charge?

The retail giant recently sent an email to some of the affected customers about the hike, which didn’t really do much to explain why the hike was happening.

Here’s what it said:

"Same-day delivery can be selected at checkout, but there will be a fee of £1.99 per delivery for orders under £20.

"The fee for customers who are not Prime members will remain £5.99.”

Is there any way to avoid the Prime same-day delivery charge?

Not really.

All you can do is add more items to your shopping basket to pass the £20 threshold for free same-day delivery, or you will need to wait until the next day for your goods.