Amazon’s minimum spend doubled: customers must now spend £20 to get free delivery

Company has been gradually increasing the price that has to be spent to qualify for its ‘super saver delivery’

Amazon misled consumers about subscription fees, the ASA has ruled (Getty Images)

Amazon has doubled the money that customers must spend to have their items delivered for free, requiring them to spend £20 to qualify for “super saver delivery”.

The site once sent any item to customers for free. But in 2013 it introduced the minimum spend of £10, and the doubled price seems to have begun this week.

If orders are below £20, customers must pay for first-class postage. Amazon charges about £2 to £5, depending on the size and kind of item.

The only exception to the new pricing rules is that if an order includes £10 or more of books, it will be delivered for free.

The change — which had been rumoured last week — is thought to be partly an attempt by Amazon to push customers towards its £79-per-year Amazon Prime subscription service, though the company didn’t explain the increase. That gives customers unlimited free next day delivery — rather than the three to five day delivery of the super saver scheme — as well as access to other services including Amazon’s streaming video product.

Amazon Prime costs £79 a year but can be tried with a free subscription.