Amazon has doubled the minimum spend UK shoppers must make before they qualify for "free" deliveries.
The online store will now require its customers to spend at least £20 to make use of its "super saver delivery" offer for most purchases.
The facility originally did not have a price barrier when it was introduced in 2009, but a minimum £10 spend was added in 2013.
The latest move comes at a time of historically low UK inflation rates.
It comes a month after the US-based company posted a $57m loss (£36m) for its last quarter.
But one expert suggested the reason was more likely an effort by Amazon to drive more users to a £79-a-year service that covers the next-day delivery of many items, rather than an effort to combat costs.
"There is always a pressure on Amazon from its investors to increase profitability, but I think the bigger factor is trying to shepherd people into Prime membership as well as improving the margins on each basket [of goods sold to others]," said Steve Mader from the Kantar Retail consultancy.
"What we have seen when it increased the minimum threshold in a couple of other markets is that there isn't a significant decrease in the amount of transactions that take place because of the convenience it offers."
Amazon is making an exception for one category of product - any purchase including a £10 spend on books will still qualify for a free drop-off.
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