Amazon Prime is the club that makes it okay to ship yourself toothpicks and Cheetos instead of running to the store.
This idea turns out to be catnip for Americans. As of September, an estimated 90 million of us are members of Amazon.com's $99-per-year two-day “free shipping” program. That makes Prime membership as popular in America as cable TV and even iPhones.
But what are we giving up when we can, and do, buy almost anything imaginable from a single online store? In the worst case, a Prime membership acts like blinders: It steers not only what we buy but also how we behave as consumers — and even which companies get to compete for our dollars.
In January, Amazon hiked the price of Prime for members who pay monthly to $13, bringing their Prime bill to an eye-popping $156 per year. The last time Amazon raised annual fees, from $79 to $99 in 2014, it hardly slowed Prime’s roll. As Prime has added perks such as streaming video, music and e-books, members have stuck around — 92 percent after the first year, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, a firm that studies shopper habits, which also produced the new estimate on Prime membership.
“Prime is growing because we provide a better shopping experience than any other retailer online or offline: larger selection, faster delivery and lower prices,” an Amazon spokeswoman said. “And we are improving on each of these dimensions every year.”
I started asking why I pay for Prime because we’re suddenly besieged by subscription fees. Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Spotify and, yes, The Washington Post, all want their monthly cuts. Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Post, but I write about all tech with the same critical eye.
While we’ve been busy filling Amazon carts, the online shopping game has evolved. Shipping has gotten faster and, often, free at lots of places. Walmart, which spent $3.3 billion on Jet.com to get a better foothold online, last year began offering free two-day shipping on orders greater than $35 for more than 2 million online products — without a subscription.
So I spoke with retail insiders, Prime customers, Amazon critics and Amazon itself to try to figure out what makes Prime worth it — or not. To my surprise, I found some people, including me, might not be saving much money with Prime anymore.
But Prime has mastered something much more valuable: the psychology of being a consumer in an era of too many choices.
by Geoffrey A. Fowler, Washington Post | Read more:
Image: Kathleen Brooks/The Washington Post/iStock
This idea turns out to be catnip for Americans. As of September, an estimated 90 million of us are members of Amazon.com's $99-per-year two-day “free shipping” program. That makes Prime membership as popular in America as cable TV and even iPhones.
But what are we giving up when we can, and do, buy almost anything imaginable from a single online store? In the worst case, a Prime membership acts like blinders: It steers not only what we buy but also how we behave as consumers — and even which companies get to compete for our dollars.In January, Amazon hiked the price of Prime for members who pay monthly to $13, bringing their Prime bill to an eye-popping $156 per year. The last time Amazon raised annual fees, from $79 to $99 in 2014, it hardly slowed Prime’s roll. As Prime has added perks such as streaming video, music and e-books, members have stuck around — 92 percent after the first year, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, a firm that studies shopper habits, which also produced the new estimate on Prime membership.
“Prime is growing because we provide a better shopping experience than any other retailer online or offline: larger selection, faster delivery and lower prices,” an Amazon spokeswoman said. “And we are improving on each of these dimensions every year.”
I started asking why I pay for Prime because we’re suddenly besieged by subscription fees. Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Spotify and, yes, The Washington Post, all want their monthly cuts. Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Post, but I write about all tech with the same critical eye.
While we’ve been busy filling Amazon carts, the online shopping game has evolved. Shipping has gotten faster and, often, free at lots of places. Walmart, which spent $3.3 billion on Jet.com to get a better foothold online, last year began offering free two-day shipping on orders greater than $35 for more than 2 million online products — without a subscription.
So I spoke with retail insiders, Prime customers, Amazon critics and Amazon itself to try to figure out what makes Prime worth it — or not. To my surprise, I found some people, including me, might not be saving much money with Prime anymore.
But Prime has mastered something much more valuable: the psychology of being a consumer in an era of too many choices.
by Geoffrey A. Fowler, Washington Post | Read more:
Image: Kathleen Brooks/The Washington Post/iStock
[ed. For me it's probably not worth it, Prime doesn't provide two-day shipping to where I live, or ship large items like appliances. I did try ordering two items from Walmart's web site ($26.21 total, with an added shipping charge of $11.15) and they said it would take over 24 days to arrive. Canceled.]
