Amazon would reward customers who forego deliveries, according to Reuters

Amazon has started offering $10 to some of its US customers for picking up their purchases instead of having them delivered, Reuters reported on Monday. Over the past few days, subscribers to the Amazon Prime service reportedly received emails saying the company would refund $10 for orders of $25 or more picked up at locations including Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh or Kohl's stores. The step comes as e-commerce companies seek to cut costs for home delivery, while struggling with slack consumer demand. Amazon has also started charging some customers a $1 fee if they return purchases using a United Parcel Service store when there is an Amazon pickup-return location closer to their delivery address. Last year, Amazon hiked the price of its annual Prime subscription, which includes free shipping benefits, by $20 to $139, raised the minimum-order threshold for free grocery delivery, encouraged customers to have all of their packages delivered on a designated day of the week, and expanded speedier same-day parcel delivery with a fee for orders under $25. Earlier this year, the company revealed plans to cut an additional 9,000 jobs.