Amazon Expands Buy With Prime to U.S.-Based Brands, Nixes Invitation-Only Model
Amazon’s exclusive Buy With Prime service is no longer by invitation only. The company will be expanding it to all eligible U.S.-based brands by the end of the month.
Additionally, the company is introducing a new benefit for Buy With Prime consumer goods companies: reviews. Participating sellers will be able to display relevant customer reviews from Amazon.com on their own sites.
An upcoming integration, Amazon has partnered with BigCommerce to also provide brands with an app through which they can enable Buy With Prime on their storefronts without coding. The self-service capability provides improved onboarding and management features, according to the company.
“We’ll continue working closely with our merchants to grow Buy With Prime and add new tools and offerings,” said Peter Larsen, vice president of Amazon’s Buy with Prime, in a recent blog post. “We’re constantly improving the experience.”
Buy With Prime’s Initial Launch
The company first launched the benefit last April, extending expedited shipping (free) and checkout, as well as simplified returns, to online stores beyond just Amazon’s site. According to Amazon, retailers only pay for what they use, with pricing based on a service, payment processing, and fulfillment and storage fees that are calculated per unit. There is no single, fixed subscription fee and the company doesn’t require long-term contracts. Retailers are free to offer as little or as many products as they’d like within the program.
What began as a pilot with Fulfilled by Amazon participants will now be opened up to companies not selling on Amazon. When Prime members shop from participating direct-to-consumer companies, they will continue to see the Prime logo and receive Prime benefits.
“Allowing merchants to offer Prime shopping benefits on their own direct-to-consumer online stores is an exciting part of the Buy With Prime mission to help merchants of all sizes grow their business whether on Amazon or beyond,” added Larsen.
Since launch, the company reports that the service has increased shopper conversion by 25% on average. Amazon also shared brand-specific success metrics, reporting that Trophy Skin saw shopper conversion of more than 30% since partnering with Amazon, while Wyze saw a 25% higher conversion and Hydralyte saw a 14% increase.
Larsen said the company will continue innovating and investing in new features and tools to help merchants of all sizes succeed — “giving Prime members the shopping benefits they love, whether it’s on Amazon or beyond.”
The Power of Prime
What’s the incentive? As the company seemingly pulls back from its brick-and-mortar store strategy, it is looking for opportunities to expand elsewhere. Amazon can leverage its heavy-hitting brand name, a wealth of membership subscribers, and an abundance of consumer data, giving merchants access to shopper order information including email addresses, while reaping the rewards of an expanded profit center.
- Prime By the Numbers
- Number of people in the program: 172 million-plus, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners in March 2022
- Type of program: Paid subscription
- Cost to join: $139 annually if paid upfront, $180 if paid monthly
