Amazon said Wednesday it would impose an average of 5 percent fuel and inflation surcharge on merchants for warehousing and shipping their products in the United States in response to rising costs.
This follows Amazon’s first such surcharge and a few months of high wages and labor-related costs that have reduced online retailer profits.
Effective April 28, Amazon will charge an average of 24 cents more per unit on its savings and shipping through its Amazon (FBA) service. The surcharge, which is not permanent, is “a process widely used across supply chain providers,” Amazon wrote in a message to merchants, which it shared with Reuters.
“We have experienced significant cost increases and exploited them wherever possible to reduce the impact on our sales partners,” the message said. “In 2022, we expect a return to normalcy as COVID-19 restrictions around the world are relaxed, but energy and inflation present more challenges.”
So far, Amazon has only announced a surcharge in the United States, its largest market. While sellers can avoid high costs by sending products directly to customers, many rely on the FBA to qualify for Amazon’s Fast-Delivery Club Prime.
Amazon says its complementary services “tend to cost significantly less than alternatives.”
Thomson Reuters 2022