What is Amazon Prime? (Full Explanation)
What is Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime is a membership program that provides users with fast shipping, entertainment streaming, and a variety of other benefits for an annual or monthly fee. The service first launched in 2005 as just a shipping membership before expanding over the years into a more comprehensive bundle.
Here are some key facts about Amazon Prime:
- Over 200 million members globally as of 2021
- Available in 22 countries including the U.S., Canada, UK, France, Germany, Japan
- Offers free two-day shipping on over 100 million items
- Includes access to Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Reading, Prime Gaming
- Same-day, one-day and two-hour delivery windows available in select areas
The main value propositions of Amazon Prime are fast, free shipping, entertainment perks like streaming video/music, and exclusive access to deals and content. The bundle of benefits helps entice frequent Amazon shoppers to pay the membership fee in order to save money over time through perks like free shipping.
Membership Benefits
An Amazon Prime membership unlocks the following main benefits:
Free and Fast Shipping
The core benefit that initially attracted millions of members is still the flagship advantage to this day – free two-day shipping on over 100 million products. For no additional cost, Prime members get expedited delivery speeds that previously cost extra.
Amazon also offers same-day, one-day and two-hour delivery windows in select metro areas for Prime members. For example, if you live in New York City or Chicago, many everyday essentials can arrive in just two hours when placing a Prime Now order of $35 or more. Prime members also have access to Amazon Day, which allows you to choose a weekly delivery day to conveniently receive all orders together.
Prime Video
Included with a Prime membership is Prime Video, Amazon‘s streaming video service carrying thousands of movies, TV episodes, Amazon Originals, live sports and more. This positions Prime Video as a competitor to Netflix and Disney+ for at-home entertainment. An Amazon Prime membership essentially doubles as a basic Netflix subscription for access to original award-winning shows like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as well as licensed content and film rentals.
Prime Music
Prime Music is Amazon‘s music streaming service, offering an ad-free experience with over two million songs available for listening on demand. While the catalog size of Prime Music comes second to Spotify or Apple Music, it presents an extra entertainment perk to pair nicely with your Prime Video subscription.
Prime Reading
For bookworms, a Prime membership gives you access to Prime Reading – over a thousand free ebooks, popular magazines/comics and more. You can read across Amazon devices or download titles for offline access when traveling. The "Prime Reading" section is routinely updated with new books to check out without any holds or waitlists.
Prime Gaming
Gamers can benefit from Prime Gaming, which features a rotating selection of free PC games each month valued up to $80. Beyond the full free games, there are add-on bundles, bonuses and other digital content available for extremely popular games like Grand Theft Auto Online or League of Legends. Twitch Prime benefits are also included, like a monthly channel subscription and exclusive emotes/badges to use when chatting.
Additional Prime Benefits
Other Amazon Prime member perks include:
- Early access to Amazon Lightning Deals with 30 minute head starts
- Prime Try Before You Buy – try select clothing/shoes for 7 days before purchasing
- Prime Wardrobe – home try-on for clothing purchases with free return shipping
- Exclusive sales and promotions specifically for Prime members
- Free release day delivery on new video game releases
- Unlimited photo storage with Amazon Photos
- 5GB cloud storage for files/docs on Amazon Drive
As you can see, an Amazon Prime membership goes far beyond just free shipping. The multitude of benefits aim to reinforce Amazon as the ultimate one-stop online shop for any and every consumer need.
Cost and Subscription Options
Amazon Prime can be paid for either monthly or annually, with no long-term contracts so you can test it out and cancel anytime.
Here‘s a breakdown of the current Amazon Prime membership costs:
- Monthly: $14.99 per month
- Annually: $139 per year (breaks down to $11.58 per month)
The monthly plan obviously offers more flexibility for trying Prime temporarily. But the annual subscription saves you about $40 overall for committing to a full year.
Students also get exclusive discounts – $7.49 a month or $69 a year for Prime Student after a 6 month free trial. Head of household accounts may also be eligible for discounts through select government assistance programs.
Before paying, all new members qualify for a 30 day free Prime trial. This allows you to sample the shipping and entertainment benefits before deciding if the membership provides enough value and convenience to justify the ongoing price.
Getting the Most From Your Prime Membership
Here are 5 tips to maximize the value you get out of Amazon Prime:
1. Compare prices with and without shipping costs. Just because something is Prime eligible doesn‘t always make it the best deal. Always double check that the total price + free shipping is lower than competitor listings.
2. Browse Prime Video and Music frequently. Just like Netflix, the available shows and albums change all the time. Check back often for new titles to stream at no added cost. You can also download content to phones/tablets for offline playback while traveling.
3> Use Prime Reading‘s First Reads feature. Get early free access to new books every month with Prime Reading. Just make sure to come back and download them right when they are released!
4. Sign up for Prime Family. You can share Prime benefits with one additional adult in your household for just $2.99 more per month. Worth considering if you split purchases/shipping costs with a significant other or roommate.
5. Don‘t forget about Prime Try Before You Buy for clothes shopping. Order clothes/shoes with Prime Try Before You Buy to get a free week-long try on period. It makes online clothes shopping much less risky with the added convenience of home try on and easy returns.
Leveraging all the benefits across shopping, media and delivery/returns will ensure you fully maximize the Prime membership.
Recent Additions and Changes
While core benefits like shipping and Prime Video/Music have remained largely unchanged, Amazon does frequently roll out new bonus perks for members. Some recent Prime additions over the past couple years include:
Thursday Night Football Live Streaming – 15 regular NFL season & postseason games available on Prime Video for the first time ever
Prescription Savings – RxPass savings program offering low-cost medications for Prime members without insurance
Just Walk Out technology – Cashierless Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores allow members to skip checkout lines
Ferran Adria Cocktail Video Series – Mixology masterclass with renowned Spanish chef producing creative cocktail recipes
Amazon also retired the Amazon Restaurants takeout service in 2019. And in 2020, Amazon shifted Prime Day from July to October as a result of COVID-19 impacts to its supply chain and warehouses.
But the major pillars like shipping, video/music streaming and exclusive member-only deals continue improving. For example, the number of products eligible for Prime‘s iconic free two-day shipping keeps expanding each year – now up to over 100 million items.
How Amazon Prime Compares to Walmart+
Walmart unveiled its own membership program called Walmart+ in 2020 to rival Amazon Prime. It offers free next-day delivery of groceries and everyday items with no minimum order threshold. Walmart is looking to undercut Prime on shipping speeds for basic household goods.
However, Prime still maintains edges in variety and overall convenience. Walmart has one-day shipping on only about 200k items compared to Prime‘s over 10 million products. And Prime delivers far more media entertainment options that Walmart+ completely lacks.
Bottom line – Prime provides faster free shipping on way more products coupled with the full ecosystem of video/music streaming you‘d expect for the annual $139 fee. Walmart+ one-day grocery delivery still comes with notable holes versus Prime‘s comprehensive suite. But it only costs $98 a year and gives Amazon some respectable competition.
The Continued Growth of Amazon Prime
Prime first launched in the US before expanding internationally over the last decade. It‘s now available in over 20 countries, covering North America, Europe, parts of Asia and Australia.
Amazon does not disclose exact, up-to-date subscriber numbers. However, estimates pegged the global total at around 200 million Prime members as of 2021 according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Expect further growth ahead as Amazon pushes into more global regions.
We will likely see Prime roll out to additional countries in South America along with other Asia Pacific markets. Greater worldwide availability will continue fueling Amazon‘s international expansion that already accounts for over 25% of total company revenues.
More member-exclusive products and services also seem imminent. Amazon could target developing areas like healthcare, home services and financial offerings tailored specifically for Prime subscribers. Investments in original content will further boost value as Amazon battles intensifying competition in streaming video.
Ultimately though, the foundation of Prime remains ultra-convenient shopping with fast, free shipping. Enhancing warehouses/logistics to ensure speed and reliability around packaged goods delivery is still Amazon‘s clearest path to satisfy the millions of loyal members globally.
Key Takeaways on Amazon Prime Membership
Here are the critical things to remember:
- Amazon Prime is a subscription bundle providing members with free shipping, entertainment media, exclusive deals and more.
- The most popular Prime perks include free two-day shipping on over 100 million products and access to Prime Video and Music.
- An Amazon Prime membership costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year in the US (£95 in UK). Discounted rates are available for students.
- Members can maximize value by fully utilizing lesser-known benefits like Prime Reading, Amazon Photos and Prime Gaming.
- Core shipping and streaming entertainment benefits continue expanding and improving each year.
So in summary – Amazon Prime aims to enhance convenience and offer savings for frequent Amazon users across multiple facets of online shopping, delivery, entertainment media and more. The wide range makes it appealing compared to standalone services like Netflix or Spotify. Amazon keeps finding ways to add more value to Prime membership with new perks and whole services like consumer healthcare now in early development.
