Amazon Prime offers a variety of benefits to its members including Prime Video, Prime Music and Prime Now. However, it appears that the company may be losing its biggest advantage over its competition: free two-day shipping.
Amazon’s free two-day shipping has been highly coveted by other marketplaces and has been made possible by Amazon’s warehouses spread throughout the United States and other countries such as Canada and Germany.
Other online marketplaces such as Walmart and eBay have begun to adopt this model and are beginning to offer free two-day shipping without the need for a membership. This brings a question: How dependent are consumers on Amazon for quick shipping?
For students at California Baptist University, Amazon Prime is perfect for those with- out transportation who frequently need to order supplies they cannot get on campus.
Brina Russell, senior sociology major, said she uses her mother’s Amazon account to get common household items.
“I’d say I order from Amazon at least once a month,” Russell said. “I usually order random things, sometimes books or gifts, and sometimes reusable co ee cups because I don’t want to have a co ee mug and have to carry it around campus all day.”
While Walmart does o er free shipping for some products without a membership, there is still a catch — shoppers have to spend $35 or more on their
items. For someone just looking to get some reusable co ee cups sent to the house, tacking on the extra money might not be worth it.
What truly separates Amazon’s two-day shipping from its competitors are the extra incentives that come with the membership.
Prime Video has be- come a direct competitor to streaming giants Netflix and Hulu with original content from its hit shows “The Mar- velous Mrs. Maisel” (2017) and “Sneaky Pete” (2015) to its library of classic titles.
“I watch ‘Suits’ (2011), ‘Parks and Recreation’ (2009) and other movies that are on there,” said Jade Gittens, senior biology ma- jor, speaking on her expe- rience with Prime Video. “I don’t pay for my account, but I would say the price is reasonable because it’s so convenient to have every- thing in one place.”
With the addition of Prime Video, Amazon Prime’s two-day shipping makes it a tough competitor when placed side by side with Walmart and eBay.
“It’s consumerism. You click a button and stu shows up,” said Kory Figueredo, freshman undeclared major. “Prime made it easy for our us to watch our favorite TV shows and movies.”
Amazon Prime is available for $119 annually or $12.99 monthly for students. However, Amazon offers Prime Student, which is free for the first 6 months and then $59 annually or $6.49 monthly.
