Local courier services tremble over potential impact of Amazon free shipping
Published:Friday | March 14, 2025 | 12:08 AMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
Courier service operators are expressing concern over the possible long-term impact on their businesses after Amazon announced that it is now offering free shipping to Jamaica, with some fearing that it could ultimately cause them to close shop.
“If they (Amazon) are consistent, and plan to do this long term and make it viable for them, it will cause a lot of our businesses to close down and less people venturing into it,” Sheldon Plummer, owner of Kingston-based SSN Shipping and Consulting Services, told The Gleaner.
The e-commerce giant already offers international shipping directly to Jamaica. But this new development allows Jamaicans who shop Amazon and spend a minimum of US$35 on eligible items to qualify for free shipping.
A courier service company offers a cost-per-pound for shipping to Jamaica that can range from J$555 (US$3.52) to J$900 (US$5.73).
In April 2023, the Government raised the duty threshold for personal items from US$50 to US$100, giving Jamaicans more duty-free access for online shopping.
Jermaine Newman, co-founder of ipCourier, said currently fewer than 50 per cent of Jamaicans habitually shop online, but that figure is growing.
He noted, too, that although Amazon holds the largest share of the Jamaican e-commerce market, its dominance is gradually decreasing, from 70 per cent in 2018 to around 60 per cent today.
However, he expects the latest development to change this trajectory over time, especially because of the recent tariffs imposed on goods coming from China into the United States.
The Donald Trump administration recently doubled taxes on all Chinese imports from 10 per cent to 20 per cent.
RIPPLE EFFECT
“If people can’t get cheaper products from China, then they’ll have to go to Amazon because they don’t want to pay the tariffs, right. So that on top of the free shipping could be an impact,” he said.
Newman predicted that other international e-commerce companies may emulate Amazon, further pushing the local courier services out of business.
“Just as how Amazon can see the opportunity and ship to these smaller islands and other countries, I think they might just follow suit,” he said.
He added that the companies that would survive are the ones who diversify their logistics offerings.
Amazon’s key selling point has traditionally been its fast shipping service, but Plummer believes that some local courier companies might be able to surpass the e-commerce giant in this area when it is shipping to Jamaica, giving them a “fighting chance” in the industry.
“[I] still believe they’ll have a fighting chance in this new development,” he said. “Based on what Amazon is given, they might take a longer time to deliver the packages than what we offer [currently].”
Jordan Trought has been operating his Ocho Rios and Brown’s Town, St Ann-based Gshipping freight-forwarding company for three years. Although he anticipates that Amazon’s free shipping will be concentrated in more urban areas at first, he is not dismissing the effect on his business.
“A lot of persons, sometimes they just buy a one package on Amazon, which will be below the US$35. It’s just a hope that it is eligible for the free shipment,” he said.