Amazon Prime


Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Founded on February 2, 2005, services include logistics through same, one- or two-day delivery of goods, healthcare through the optional perk of One Medical primary care services, entertainment through streaming music, video, e-books, gaming, and grocery shopping services. In April 2021, Amazon reported that Prime had 200 million subscribers worldwide.

History

Early history

In 2005, Amazon announced Amazon Prime as a membership service offering free two-day shipping within the contiguous United States on all eligible purchases for an annual fee of $79 and discounted one-day shipping rates. Amazon launched the program in Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom in 2007; in France in 2008, in Italy in 2011, in Canada in 2013, in India in July 2016, in Mexico in March 2016, in Australia in June 2018, in Turkey in September 2020, in Sweden in September 2021, in Poland in October 2021, and in Egypt in July 2022. Amazon Prime is also available in Ireland, with a new fulfillment center having opened in Dublin in 2022. As of October 2021, there are Prime members in 22 countries in North America, Europe and Asia–Pacific.

2012–2016

Amazon Prime membership in Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, India, and the United States includes Amazon Video, the instant streaming of selected films and TV programs at no additional cost. In November 2011, it was announced that Prime members had access to the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, which allows users to borrow up to one title a month of specified popular Kindle e-books.
People with an email address at an academic domain such as.edu or.ac.uk, typically students, are eligible for Prime Student privileges, including discounts on Prime membership.
In March 2014, Amazon increased the annual US membership fee for Amazon Prime from $79 to $99. Shortly after this change, Amazon announced Prime Music, providing unlimited, ad-free music streaming. In November 2014, Amazon added Prime Photos, adding unlimited storage of files deemed to be photographs in the users' Amazon Drive. Amazon began offering free same-day delivery to Prime members in 14 United States metropolitan areas in May 2015. In April 2015, Amazon started a trial partnership with Audi and DHL in order to deliver directly into the trunks of Audi cars, available in the Munich, Germany, area to some Audi-connected car users.
In December 2015, Amazon stated that "tens of millions" of people were Amazon Prime members. Amazon Prime added 3 million members during the third week of December 2015. That month Amazon announced the creation of the Streaming Partners Program, a subscription service that provides Amazon Prime subscribers with additional streaming video services. Among the programming providers involved in the program are Showtime, Starz. Lifetime Movie Club, Smithsonian Earth, and Qello Concerts.

2016–present

In January 2016, Amazon Prime reached 54 million members according to a report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Several reports in January 2016 said that nearly half of all U.S. households were members of Amazon Prime at that time. In April 2016, Amazon announced same-day delivery would be expanded to include the areas of Charlotte, Cincinnati, Fresno, Louisville, Milwaukee, Nashville, Central New Jersey, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Stockton, and Tucson, bringing total coverage to 27 metro areas. In September 2016, Amazon launched a restaurant delivery service for Prime members in London, England, with free delivery on all orders over £15.
In September 2016, Amazon subsidiary Twitch announced features available to users with an Amazon Prime subscription, including monthly offers of video games and add-on content, and the ability to purchase a free subscription to a user's channel once per-month. Amazon then partnered with different game developers offering in-game loots as rewards to subscribers. Games included with the loot rewards were Apex Legends, Legends of Runeterra, Ultimate Team, Teamfight Tactics, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Doom Eternal, and more. In December 2016, Amazon began offering Prime membership for an alternative monthly, instead of yearly fee, of $10.99 per month, increased to $12.99 in February 2018. Amazon also announced Wickedly Prime, an own-brand line of food and beverages available to Prime members.
Amazon announced Prime Wardrobe, a service that lets customers try on clothes before they pay, in June 2017. Also in 2017, Amazon announced the Prime Exclusive Phone program, which offers some smartphones displaying Amazon ads on the lock screen from companies including LG, Motorola and Nokia at a discount.
In May 2018, Amazon increased the annual US Prime membership fee from $99 to $119. In June 2019, Amazon expanded its one-day delivery with Amazon Prime, stating that Prime Free One Day was available to U.S. members on more than 10 million products with no minimum purchase.
In June 2018, Amazon launched Prime Australia, with a two-business-day delivery promise, free delivery of international orders, and Amazon Video.
On March 3, 2020, Amazon announced it installed "mini-fulfillment centers" in select U.S. cities, including Dallas, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Phoenix to reduce same-day delivery times. Later the same month, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime express delivery dates for various in-stock items reached delays of up to a month in the US instead of the usual 1–2 days, as Amazon struggled to meet exceptional demand and announced it would prioritize the most essential items. By the end of 2020, Amazon Prime Pantry had been discontinued in all locations.
In February 2022, Amazon announced its first increase in almost four years for the annual US Prime membership fee from $119 to $139. The increase was due to higher labor and shipping costs.
In April 2022, Amazon launched "Buy with Prime", a new service for Prime members that allows them to purchase goods from partnered merchants and take advantage of Amazon's logistics, return and exchange services.
On August 1, 2022, Amazon Prime was available for the first time in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Its presence aims to develop local and international content for users in Indonesia, the most considerable economic in Southeast Asia. Later, users can access Prime Video through the official website through various platforms, such as mobile devices, tablets, and laptops.
In January 2023, Amazon announced the launch of RXPass, a prescription drug delivery service. It allows US Amazon Prime members to pay a $5 monthly fee for access to 60 medications. The service was launched immediately after the announcement except in states with specific prescription delivery requirements. Beneficiaries of government healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid will not be able to sign up for RXPass.
In June 2023, the Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon for its "years-long effort to enroll consumers into its Prime program without their consent while knowingly making it difficult for consumers to cancel their subscriptions".
In April 2024, Amazon announced the launch of a new delivery service for groceries for Prime customers and those receiving government assistance for food. Regular Prime subscribers would be charged $9.99 per month on orders $35 and higher from Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh, along with other prominent chains like Save Mart, Bartell Drugs, Rite Aid, and Pet Food Express and local grocery and specialty retail stores on the platform. Individuals on government assistance would be charged a reduced fee of $4.99 and would not need to be a Prime member. Amazon said it would be available in more than 3,500 locations around the country when announcing. Prior to the announcement, it was given a successful trial run in several cities in the US. It came at a time when competitors like Target and Walmart were expanding their fresh food operations.
In the United States and in the United Kingdom, Amazon Prime has an Amazon Household program where members of a family can share Amazon Prime delivery benefits and access to Prime Video. In other countries such as Germany, users can only share delivery benefits.
In 2025 to coincide with Prime Day, Amazon launched a fuel discount program in the United States in partnership with BP, valid at participating BP, Amoco, and ARCO locations cobranded with BP-owned ampm. The deal wasn't valid at BP-owned Thorntons or TravelCenters of America or ARCO stations serviced by ARCO owner Marathon Petroleum. The deal was launched to compete with a similar fuel savings program with Walmart+ for ExxonMobil stations.

Sub-brands

Prime Music

Prime Music is an ad-free music streaming service that is included in the cost of the standard Amazon Prime membership. It began in 2007. In November 2022, the music catalog was significantly expanded, and the style was changed to be similar to Pandora. This means that when users choose a song, Prime Music plays something similar, rather than the specific song that was selected. When users dislike the song substituted by Prime Music, they can skip a limited number of songs per hour. This change was introduced as part of an effort to bolster Amazon against rival offerings from Walmart.
Amazon offers a separate subscription service called Amazon Music, which costs $10.99 per month for Prime members and $11.99 per month for others. Subscribers to Music Unlimited can choose which songs they want to listen to without being redirected to similar songs or similar artists.
Amazon's music streaming services represent 10% of the market, making it far less popular than Spotify and Apple Music.

Prime Video

The service debuted on September 7, 2006, as Amazon Unbox in the United States. On September 4, 2008, the service was renamed Amazon Video on Demand. The Unbox name still refers to the local program, which as of 2014 is no longer available for downloading purchased instant videos. On February 22, 2011, the service rebranded as Amazon Instant Video.
The services grew and in 2011 Amazon bought UK based streaming and by mail DVD rental service named Lovefilm in 2011 and now the combined services were relaunched as Prime Video.