Four years. That is what Amazon takes without updating its Prime prices in Spain. In April 2018, the rate went from 19.95 euros per year to the current 36 euros, which meant an increase of more than 80%.
This contrasts with the price increases that all sectors are experiencing after the pandemic. The CPI in Spain rose in June to 10.2%, its highest level in 37 years. It would not be unusual for the company founded by Jeff Bezos to announce a price increase in Spain at any time, in fact, it would be in line with the rest of the countries. Fees increased in the United States last February, from $119 a year to $139. I would also go online of what the major streaming platforms are doing. Netflix, the world leader in the sector, increased its prices for two of its three plans in October 2021. The standard cost 11.99 euros, while the premium now costs 17.99 euros.
The increase in Spain would not be unreasonable either if the prices in the main countries are taken into account, where it is difficult to find one that pays less than in Spain. Italians currently pay the same 36 euros a year as Spaniards, but it is an exception. The price is about 50% lower than what is paid in the main economies. In France the annual fee is 49 euros while in Germany it rises to 69. If compared to countries outside the European Union the differences are even greater. In the United Kingdom, citizens pay 79 pounds a year, which at the current exchange rate is about 92 euros, while the 139 dollars paid in the United States is approximately 133 euros.
Raising prices would not only be a way to fight rising inflation, it is also a shield against the loss of users that is already affecting the main streaming platforms. Netflix announced that it has lost users in the first quarter for the first time in a decade. A problem that, in fact, is already affecting Amazon.
In 2021, the electronic commerce giant entered 31,768 million dollars for its subscription services, which include more benefits than Prime. Despite the high number, growth has been slowing down in recent years, representing an increase of 26% compared to the figure for 2020, when it entered 25,207 million. In the midst of the pandemic, the increase was 31%, while in 2019 and 2018 it was 35% and 45% respectively. This means that in 2021 subscription revenue grew at almost half the rate of four years ago.
Amazon Prime Video is the second most consumed streaming platform in Spain with a share of 18.7%, Netflix registers 32.4%, according to the latest data from the TV-OTT Barometer carried out by Barlovento Comunicación. However, it is losing ground. If the presence in Spanish homes is analyzed, it has gone from the 53.7% that it registered in June 2021 to the 50% that it registered in the same period of this year. Although the reality is that it is a general trend in the sector, all subscription services have lost presence in homes with one exception, Disney+.
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