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Amazon Glitch Hits Shoppers Amidst AWS Issues
6 Mar
Summary
- Amazon's website and app experienced errors on Thursday.
- Uber is testing driver subscription models globally.
- Ride prices rose significantly while driver pay lagged.
Amazon's online shopping experience was hampered on Thursday as its website and mobile app presented error pages for critical functions like product listings and checkout. This outage impacted users intermittently. A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed the issues and apologized for the inconvenience, stating that the company was working to resolve them.
Amazon Web Services, the company's cloud division, reported no new problems that would affect Amazon's retail operations in North America, despite ongoing work to restore services at UAE and Bahrain data centers damaged by drone strikes. The company's spokesperson affirmed that AWS was functioning normally.
In parallel, Uber Technologies Inc. is intensifying its testing of a subscription service for drivers across the globe. This initiative follows the success of smaller competitors employing similar models. Uber is hiring a product manager in New York to develop new subscription packages and global testing strategies for its drivers and couriers.
The move toward subscriptions comes as ride prices have escalated. Data from Gridwise revealed that ride prices climbed 9.6% in December 2025 compared to the previous year, with platform fees per trip soaring by 33%. However, gross driver pay per trip saw a modest increase of only 3.6% during the same period.
Consumer spending on rideshare services is reportedly declining due to these price hikes. Approximately 60% of consumers have reduced their rideshare usage because of increased costs, and 55% indicated they would cut back further if prices rise again. This trend is impacting Uber's operations and competitive landscape.
Uber has previously adopted a flat-fee structure for drivers in India, inspired by local competitor Rapido's rapid growth. In the US, Empower, a seven-year-old ride-hailing app, has gained significant traction in New York City by offering lower fares through driver subscription plans instead of commission-based models. Empower's monthly active users grew by 79% from May to February, reaching 682,000, despite regulatory challenges. Empower's CEO, Joshua Sear, suggested Uber is now attempting to replicate their successful business model.
