Home » Amazon faces backlash after axing popular Prime benefit: ‘Time to cancel’

Amazon faces backlash after axing popular Prime benefit: ‘Time to cancel’

by Marko Florentino
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Amazon has this week discontinued a popular delivery perk. 

The Amazon Today service provided same-day delivery from select local stores in customers’ neighborhoods.

Unlike traditional Prime delivery, which ships items from Amazon’s warehouse network, Today connected customers to local retailers like Staples, Petco, and SuperDry.

Stores – either independents just in one town or chains with multiple locations – could sign up to Today. 

In addition to home delivery, Amazon Today lets customers order items for pickup directly from brick-and-mortar stores. 

Prime members enjoyed the service for free on orders over $25, with a $2.99 fee for smaller purchases.

For non-Prime customers fees varied by retailer. 

Amazon shut down Today for most retail partners by December 2, with limited access running through January 24 for select stores. Bosses had quietly announced the axing of Amazon Today in October,

A company spokesperson told DailyMail.com the service is facing the chop because of ‘overlap’ with its other delivery services.

Amazon is scrapping its same-day delivery service for Prime subscribers early next year 

‘This will streamline our offerings for customers, and the majority of selection our customers buy from Amazon Today will continue to be available for same- and one-day delivery,’ the spokesperson told DailyMail.com. 

However, cutting the service will also have ramifications for employees who will either lose their jobs or be moved internally to other positions within the company.

The change has upset some Prime members, with some saying they plan to cancel memberships costing $14.99 monthly or $139 annually. 

‘They don’t even appear to be trying anymore,’ another said on Reddit. 

But one quipped it would help them cut back on impulse buys. 

‘Annoying but I’ll probably end up with fewer spontaneous purchases so probably a good thing in the long run,’  they wrote.

It comes after the company boasted about its record delivery speeds.

‘So far this year, our speed of delivery for Prime customers has been faster than ever before, with more than 5 billion units arriving the same day or next day,’ CEO Andy Jassy said during a recent earnings call. 

The axing of Amazon Today has upset some Prime members, with some saying they plan to cancel memberships costing $14.99 monthly or $139 annually.

The axing of Amazon Today has upset some Prime members, with some saying they plan to cancel memberships costing $14.99 monthly or $139 annually.

The new Amazon logo has replaced the blue tape with light and dark green stripes

The new Amazon logo has replaced the blue tape with light and dark green stripes

‘With more optimal inbound inventory placement, we expect to enable faster speeds, consolidate more orders in one box, and reduce inventory transfers once items reach a fulfillment center,’ Jassy told investors. 

The removal of the perk also comes after Amazon confused its loyal shoppers with an unannounced change to its shopping app logo

The well known cardboard colored box logo with a black arrow has seen a subtle change in the latest update for the app. 

The little square, symbolizing the tape that seals Amazon packages, has changed from its well-known light blue to stripes of dark and light green. 

Meanwhile,  as drug stores across the US are struggling, Amazon has plans for 20 new pharmacies next year

It contrasts with Walgreens, which said earlier this month that it would shut 1,200 stores over the next three years.



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