Amazon offers customers $10 to pick up purchases as it targets delivery costs: Report

E-commerce giant Amazon is offering customers $10 to pick up purchases rather than having them shipped to a home address, as the company has joined other retailers in racing to slash costs for home delivery and returns. According to a report by the news agency Reuters early Tuesday (May 9), Amazon for the last few days sent emails to an unknown number of Prime subscribers offering them $10 to retrieve an order of $25 or more at company pickup points at locations such as Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh or Kohl's stores.

Dean Maciuba, a New York-based shipping consultant, was one of the customers who received the offer. Speaking to Reuters, Maciuba said that the increasing use of Amazon pick-up points would help the company bypass costly residential package dropoffs and it is a huge opportunity for the company to reduce the cost of delivery.It also helps train consumers to tender returns directly to the company, Maciuba added.

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Last month, the e-commerce giant started charging customers a $1 fee if they returned their packages via a United Parcel Service (UPS) store when there is an Amazon pickup/return location closer to their delivery address.

Speaking to Business Insider on April 12, Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly said that the company always offers a free option for customers to return their items. "If a customer would prefer to return their item at a UPS Store when there is a free option closer to their delivery address, a very small amount of customers may incur a $1 fee," Kelly added.

For years, Amazon has worked to train customers to expect fast, no-fee deliveries and returns. But as the company tightens its belt after a period of explosive growth, it has made numerous moves to reduce delivery-related costs across the board.

Last year, Amazon hiked the price of its annual Prime subscription which includes free shipping benefits by $20 to $139. And in February this year, it raised minimum order thresholds for free grocery delivery. As per the new policy, delivery fees for Amazon Fresh would be $3.95 for orders of $100 to $150, $6.95 for orders of $50 to $100 and $9.95 for orders of less than $50.

(With inputs from agencies)

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