Your Next Amazon Prime Perk: Cheap or Even Free Cell Phone Plans?
Amazon is always looking for ways to drive more Prime sign-ups, and its latest effort may be offering cheap, and even free, cell phone plans to Prime subscribers as a new perk.
According to Bloomberg(Opens in a new window), Amazon is in talks with US carriers—including Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and Dish Network—to offer the wireless plans, which could cost $10 per month for Prime subscribers, or even be free.
Talks have been going on for six to eight weeks, with Amazon trying to secure the lowest possible wholesale price for resale to consumers. However, it could take several months for the e-commerce company to launch the cellular service, which could also be scrapped if the talks fall through, according to Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
For now, Amazon tells PCMag: “We are always exploring adding even more benefits for Prime members, but don’t have plans to add wireless at this time.”
Still, offering cheap or even free cellular service to Amazon Prime could make the subscription program even more appealing to US consumers. A January report from market research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partner said(Opens in a new window) "Prime membership has essentially stopped growing in the US, after many years of extremely fast growth.”
In February, Amazon also increased the price of Prime from $119 to $139 for annual subscribers, citing rising worker wage and growing transportation costs. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners now estimates(Opens in a new window) Amazon has about 167 million Prime subscribers in the US, down from 170 million a year earlier. “The return to in-person shopping and current economic uncertainty put further pressure on membership,” the research firm added.
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