In other words, if I can stop worrying about extra costs for shipping and get my books, CDs, DVDs, etc., in two days, I'll do it sooner than I'll search around for an optimal bargain — even if the Amazon Prime price for the item is more than the non-Prime price.
And that leads people to buy stuff from Amazon other than media. We do this some — Margie has a favorite bouillon, I've bought shaving cream and deodorant. The price is comparable, it will be delivered to the house, in bulk, in two days — it's a win for me as the consumer.
And that's what's got retailers really worried.
Amazon Prime: Bigger, More Powerful, More Profitable than Anyone Imagined | The Passive Voice | Writers, Writing, Self-Publishing, Disruptive Innovation and the Universe
From Time: Amazon’s competitors — a group that basically includes every retailer under the sun nowadays — have more reasons than ever to fear the world’s largest e-retailer. Membership in Amazon Prime…
It took awhile for me to sign up for Prime — it was the release of the Amazon Prime app for streaming video to the PS3 that did it — and I have to admit that I'm shopping more and more at Amazon as a result. I've ordered stuff early enough on a Thursday to get it on Friday even though it's supposed to be 2 day shipping. And with the possibility that they could soon offer same day shipping, that'll just make them that much more attractive.
And, yes, I didn't mention how we use the heck out of Amazon Prime for (free) streaming video.
I got on board when they offered it free for students (wasn't a student, but had a .edu email for work), and now I gladly pay the yearly fee. It pays for itself at Christmas alone.
We also have a Costco membership, so I don't do so much of the bulk dry goods through Prime. At some point I might look at switching to Amazon for that stuff, but Costco still has a lot of other stuff that makes it useful.
+Brittany Constable We're big on CostCo in my house as well. It helps there's one just a couple of blocks down the road from us.
Yeah, I don't ever see shifting completely away from b&m dry goods, clothing, etc. Some things are just better handled in person. But where I already know what I want, it's quite handy.
And definitely it pays for itself at Christmas. We do the vast majority of our Christmas shopping by catalog — and, honestly, before I order something (if it's past the "free shipping" stage, which, alas, it often is), I'll always double-check to see if I can ship it free (and in two days!) from Amazon.
The streaming video was actually the primary (heh) reason I chose to get Prime. I was so hacked off over the Netflix split fiasco that I vowed to find something — anything — else and Prime was perfectly situated. I’m perfectly happy with their selection and quality so from my perspective at least the free shipping is the gravy part. And yes, it does influence my purchase patterns at times. The only thing I wish they would do is improve their “queue” online for the streaming service.
Whereas the streaming video was the least of my considerations — but Kay has picked up on it hot and heavy, and there's a ton of free stuff (from Doctor Who back-seasons to X-Men cartoons) that we're enjoying through it.
I didn't actually use the prime streaming at all until I realized how much BBC stuff is available.
I haven't really looked at Amazon video. I'll have to see what they have that Netflix is missing. I get both on my Roku HD box, so it will definitely be worth looking into.