If sharing is caring, Amazon Prime is getting a little less nice.
Amazon notified customers this week that it planned to end a longstanding way that members of its Prime membership program have shared free, fast shipping with a friend or family member who did not live with them. The change takes effect on Oct. 1, before the holiday shopping season begins.
Here’s what to know.
What is Amazon changing?
Amazon is ending a program that let Prime members give someone who does not live with them a stripped down version of Prime that provided free shipping. The program, called Prime Invitee, enrolled new members from 2009 to 2015. People who were added to a paid account back then have had free, fast shipping ever since.
At the time, Prime Invitee was a way for Prime members to share what is widely considered the most valuable benefit of Prime — free, fast shipping — and for Amazon to gain more e-commerce customers as it expanded.
This is not the same as password sharing. A friend or family member could get their own, pared-back version of Prime that did not include benefits like streaming videos, but did provide free shipping.
The Prime Invitee program goes away on Oct. 1. Prime members can still use free shipping to send items to a friend or family member who live somewhere else, but those friends or family members can no longer get free, fast shipping on their own account without their own Prime membership.
Why is Amazon making the change?
The move will allow Amazon to sell more Prime memberships. People who had previously received free, fast shipping from a friend or family member through the Invitee program will now need to pay.
Prime memberships and other subscription fees account for about 7 percent of Amazon’s sales, amounting to more than $12 billion in the last quarter alone. But the growth of Prime subscriptions has essentially flatlined for almost two years. Most American households who can afford a Prime membership already have one, analysts have said. This change allows Amazon to find more customers who will sign up and pay for their own accounts.
The Prime Invitee program did not provide other Prime benefits, such as video streaming and access to deals on Prime Day. People that use the full Prime benefits are Amazon’s best customers and shop on its site more regularly, so the change could also drive more sales for the company over time.
Will this change cost customers more?
In general, yes.
People who used to have free, fast shipping through the Prime Invitee program will now have to pay for it, either in shipping fees or by buying a Prime membership of their own. Amazon is offering a year of discounted membership for $14.99 for 12 months to people who were in the Prime Invitee program before the new full price kicks in, which is currently $14.99 a month or $139 a year.
“The Invitee program, which enabled sharing of the Prime shipping benefit only, is being phased out, and Prime members can instead share a broad range of Prime benefits with Amazon Family,” Bradley Mattinger, an Amazon spokesman, said in a statement.
Amazon Family refers to a program under which Prime members can share a full membership, including streaming and access to Prime Day deals, with one adult who lives with them.
Karen Weise writes about technology for The Times and is based in Seattle. Her coverage focuses on Amazon and Microsoft, two of the most powerful companies in America.
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