11 Options That Make Amazon Prime Well worth the Cash.
The online store has spent the past year expanding its same-day delivery service to 24 metropolitan areas covering a population of 75.7 million people, or almost one in four U.S. residents, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.An Amazon Prime membership costs $99 a year, or $49 for students, but it might make sense for frequent users who are looking for free shipping, video streaming and other rewards.
According to Forrester Research, which just released a report on Amazon’s Global Appeal, the e-commerce giant’s customer service techniques have gained praise worldwide, but the Amazon shopping experience can vary wildly depending on the country you’re in. Prime members who place an order for same-day delivery by noon, on any day of the week, will receive their delivery between 6pm and 10pm on that same evening. By promising consumers in Seattle, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and other cities that they can get their purchases right away, Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos is betting that more people will be convinced to buy gifts online instead of trekking out to physical stores.
There is no minimum order value and a wide range of items are available, from TVs to toasters, DVDs to books, and coffee makers to children’s toys. “Prime members are telling us that they love the convenience of free same-day delivery so we are quickly introducing it to many new areas of the UK. Perhaps one of Amazon Prime’s most beloved perks is its free two-day shipping for more than 20 million Amazon items nationwide, except Alaska and Hawaii.
And we continue to invest in our delivery network to expand our fast delivery options to even more Prime members,” said Christopher North, Managing Director of Amazon.co.uk. “Prime Same Day adds to the range of benefits available to Prime members, like unlimited streaming of movies and music, unlimited photo storage and more.” The company spends four times as much money dropping off packages on the day compared with next-day deliveries, according to Guru Hariharan, who worked at Amazon and EBay Inc. before starting Boomerang Commerce Inc., an e-commerce analytics firm in Sunnyvale, California. While more than three-quarters of Indian shoppers said Amazon’s products were in their price range, less than half of British customers agreed with that statement.
The model only works if couriers are handling about three to four deliveries per hour—anything less, and the service becomes a money loser, he said. Amazon Prime members can choose from among tens of thousands of items through Prime Now that can be delivered within an hour by paying $8, or within two hours for free. Amazon Prime could be worth the money if you make a lot of small purchases under $35, which is the magic number that earns non-Prime members free shipping. European users surveyed by Forrester were upset that a gift card purchased for Amazon in a foreign country could not be used in another country; British users also complained that it was hard to track certain packages through the site. It’s also helping Amazon to stay ahead of EBay and startup Jet.com Inc., while giving Prime shoppers—who already get delivery discounts and online video and music streaming—another incentive to stick around and spend more.
Based on a calculation for a non-Prime member on the site buying a book and DVD totaling just under $20, the two-day shipping costs $14.97; with Amazon Prime, two-day shipping is free. The study notes Amazon shoppers around the world “praise the company for fixing errors without question,” which mitigates anger when purchases go wrong and also deepens customer trust in Amazon. As of 2015, the report says, more than 57% of American, 55% of Indian, and 58% of British online consumers have made a purchase from Amazon in the past three months. That’s perfect for shoppers like Bryon Gillis, 24, of Long Beach, California, who recently bought the Call of Duty: Black Ops III video game via Amazon’s Prime Now app. “It was waiting for me when I got home, which was pretty nice,” he said.
Amazon wouldn’t have invested in same-day delivery unless the business proved promising, said Scot Wingo, chairman of ChannelAdvisor Corp., an e-commerce consulting company in Morrisville, North Carolina. External hard drives to store photos can cost the price of a Prime membership or more, so that might be something to consider if you’re looking for storage options. According to DealNews, a consumer saving website, the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library offers Prime members more than 500,000 books, including many best-sellers.
Kindle First gives Prime members “first dibs” to download one of the six editors’ picks a month before it goes on sale, for free or at a reduced price. By the company’s own description, the brand is promoted to families and the product — currently one is available: baby wipes — is developed from customer input. For bargain shoppers who like to be first in line, Prime members have 30-minute early access to Lightning Deals on Amazon and sale events on MyHabit — another Amazon site that offers up to 60 percent off designer labels for the family and home with daily events. If you like scoring a deal and have fast fingers, the Prime Early Access feature might make a Prime subscription worthwhile for you and help out with the holiday shopping.
If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you get 20 percent off a diaper subscription and an up to 15 percent, one-time discount for other items on your baby registry. In order to get the discount on diapers, you’ll have to enroll in the “Subscribe and Save” option at checkout, which allows you to pick the quantity and frequency of deliveries (every month to every six months). The subscription can help over the holidays by keeping your diaper stash full when you’re preoccupied with Christmas stockings and not stocking up on diapers. As part of this arrangement, however, the two adults on the account will also be sharing each other’s payment methods, which is something to keep in mind when setting up your Amazon Household.