E-commerce firm Amazon India will host its annual sales programme Prime Day on July 23 and 24, which new users will be able to access after paying about 50 percent higher membership fee compared to last year’s event.

The company increased prime membership fee to Rs. 1,499 per year around Diwali from Rs. 999 earlier.

“We believe that based on the amount of investments around delivery, shopping, all the different benefits, we feel that the fair price for the programme at this time and we have seen huge uptake,” Amazon India, director for Prime and fulfillment experience, Akshay Sahi told PTI. The monthly Prime membership has increased to Rs. 179 from Rs. 129 charged earlier.

The membership gives users access to discounts on delivery charges, access to Amazon’s over-the-top entertainment platform Prime Videos and Amazon Music.

Sahi said that there will be over 30,000 new product launches from over 400 top Indian and global brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, Intel, boAt, and 2,000 new product launches from over 120 Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs).

The SMBs that will launch new products will include Xech, Cos-IQ, Himalayan Origins, SpaceinCart, Mirakii, Karagiri, Nirvi Handicrafts across categories, including electronics, fashion & grooming, jewellery and handmade products.

Amazon will start special deals from July 7 till July 22 onward but the discounts and option for shopping will be higher during Prime Day.

“Prime is in its seventh year, but like every year for the last six years, we are going to be doing a special 48 hours. Once again our focus in this is to bring the best of shopping and entertainment to Indian Prime members as well as make it a really big day for small and medium businesses,” Sahi said.