Amazon’s Prime Number…
Squared
Anyone who has watched Amazon Prime’s sales expansion over the last few years must be amazed at their level of growth. Membership in the “Prime” program for 2014 posted a record 53% growth. In 2015, Amazon Prime membership grew another 51%!
While they failed to release the numbers for 2016 (using the same metrics) respected analysts such as Adam Levy has extrapolated that Amazon Prime consisted of around 70 MILLION global members for 2016. That number is only expected to continue to grow at an astounding rate.
Q1 2017…
According to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), Amazon Prime had close to 80 MILLION members in the United States alone at the end of the first quarter of 2017. When you consider those numbers in their totality… it represents a virtual doubling of Prime members between the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2017!
On top of that, this growth accelerated each quarter over each quarter as Prime membership has increased. No doubt the acceleration of membership growth will eventually slow, however, it is likely this slow down will take place primarily because the pool of “non-members,” is shrinking so rapidly.
When you consider the level of sustained growth to date in Prime membership it is hard to forget Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s stated goal for Amazon Prime: “To make sure that if you are not a Prime member, you are being irresponsible.”
60%…and counting!
It is expected that almost 60% of all U.S. Amazon shoppers are Prime members. Even though so many U.S. shoppers are Prime members already, Prime is actually growing faster so far this year than it did last year.
Specifically, the first quarter of 2016 saw 7% membership growth in the U.S. However, in the most recent quarter that membership data has been collated, it grew at an even faster 8%! Despite such a huge member base already being in place, it appears that Amazon Prime growth for 2017 is on track for another record year.
What is the impetus for this new growth spurt in Prime membership? Many analysts such as Josh Lowitz, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP, believe that much of this additional growth is based on Amazon’s introduction of the new monthly payment program. This payment option was introduced last April and CIRP now estimates that at least 26% of Prime’s new members pay a $10.99 monthly payment rather than an annual payment of $99.00.
What Does Prime Mean for Digital Sellers?
Eventually, Prime membership growth will hit a wall in the U.S. That is why Amazon is aggressively investing in Europe now to support infrastructure for future Amazon Prime growth on that continent. As Amazon continues to expand so will its Prime membership. We can expect to see continued global growth for Amazon Prime when it comes to (online) e-commerce.
For this reason, MosaicaFX would strongly urge Digital Sellers to consider the following when choosing your digital products and e-commerce marketing strategies.
- Learn what the requirements are for acceptance into the Amazon Prime program with your products.
- Before choosing new products for digital sales, review what competitive products already are sold under the Prime program. Your goal should be to position yourself in a competitive position on Prime.
- Research which trends on Prime are hottest and then embrace them in your sales approach.
- Become a digital selling expert in Amazon Prime. If possible, make this your target market.
No matter how much business you do on Amazon, it is time for you to really look hard at Amazon Prime if you are not already doing so. Prime is the future of ecommerce expansion on a more aggressive trajectory. Amazon knows this…..do you?
