// Amazon has offered some US shoppers $10 to collect items from pick-up points

// It comes amid a slew of initiatives to minimise the cost of delivery and returns

Amazon is offering US customers $10 to pick up purchases instead of having it shipped to an address, as it looks to slash home delivery and returns costs.

Over the last few days, the US retail giant has emailed an unknown number of Prime subscribers the discount to retrieve orders of $25 or more at pick-up points including Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh and Kohl’s stores, according to Reuters.

Separately, the ecommerce giant has started to charge some customers a fee of $1 if they return packages via a United Parcel Service (UPS) store when there is an Amazon pickup or return location closer.

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Amazon’s fast, no-fee deliveries and returns has helped it grow rapidly, however it has made a number of moves recently to curtail the cost of deliveries..

Last year, the firm raised the price of its annual Prime subscription, which includes free shipping benefits. In the UK, the price of Prime jumped from £7.99 to £8.99 a month in September last year.

The minimum thresholds for free grocery delivery have also been hiked. From February, Amazon Fresh shoppers ordering more than £120 of groceries have had to pay a delivery fee.

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