Although Amazon has offered customers the option to get free delivery on the products they purchase via safe shopping online for many years, it was back in 2013 that it imposed the initial £10 minimum spend, in order for sales to be eligible.

Now this minimum has been doubled to £20, according to IT Pro Portal, in a move which many see as being a deliberate attempt to get more people signed up to Amazon Prime.

Since people can pay £79 a year for free next day delivery, as well as access to a number of other benefits, including video streaming in the style of Netflix, more Amazon customers may consider committing to this subscription package rather than having to spend at least £20, to get their goods delivered free of charge.

Many surveys covering safe shopping online have highlighted delivery charges as being one of the biggest bones of contention. And although free delivery from Amazon and other companies usually comes with the caveat of taking longer to arrive, it is something that bargain hunters value immensely.

Amazon has yet to make a statement about why its minimum spend for free delivery has doubled, although other speculations suggest that it may be doing this to account for the rising costs of providing the growing variety of delivery options that are available.

For example, customers can now collect items with local shops, shopping centres, Post Office outlets and even train stations in some areas. And the increased logistical challenge of making this achievable is clearly eating into the company’s coffers.

While Amazon is large enough to not take too much of a hit from a major change like this, it will be interesting to see whether its rivals will capitalise on the changes.