Amazon and Walmart Add Membership Value to Deepen Loyalty

As retail giants Amazon and Walmart race to capture consumers’ online shopping spend, both aim to sweeten the deal for members of their paid subscriptions to drive loyalty and engagement.

Amazon, for its part, is adding more offerings that extend beyond its own marketplace. The eCommerce behemoth is expanding its existing Buy with Prime program, which enables Prime members to get benefits such as free shipping from select external merchants’ online shops. The company announced Wednesday (Sept. 18) that consumers can now pay with PayPal through the offering.

Amazon is also growing its social commerce presence through Buy with Prime. Wednesday’s product updates additionally included the option for merchants participating in the program to advertise its availability on TikTok and provide real-time delivery estimates in these ads.

“Buy with Prime and Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment continue to help sellers attract new shoppers with the convenient, fast and predictable experience they expect from Amazon,” Peter Larsen, vice president of Buy with Prime and Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment, said in a statement. “Both services have seen significant growth over the last year, and we’re delighted to add to the momentum.”

Amazon noted that Buy with Prime orders through merchant websites have risen 45% year over year, and more than 50% more Prime customers adopted the offering. There are more than 25% more merchants offering the service. Additionally, during Prime Day, the company saw a 300% rise in amount orders compared to the same period the previous month.

Meanwhile, Walmart is appealing to deal-seeking consumers in its efforts to sweeten the bargain for paid subscribers. The company announced Thursday (Sept. 19) that its early holiday shopping sales event will be open early to paid members of its Walmart+ program, giving them a head start on getting the best discounts.

The move comes as part of a push to give members more perks to drive continued enrollment and retention.

“We talk with our members all the time,” Seth Dallaire, Walmart U.S. executive vice president and chief revenue officer, told analysts during last week’s Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference. “… We want to understand… what is it about the delivery benefit that we do well that you want more of? And they’re very vocal and give us great feedback about that. But then also, we asked them are there other benefits that we might be able to offer to you?”

Dallaire added that members are seeking more kinds of benefits such as streaming perks, which the retailer is offering through its Paramount+ partnership, and food offerings, which it is now making a foray into with its Burger King tie-up.

PYMNTS Intelligence found that Amazon Prime remains more popular than Walmart+, but the latter is gaining ground. This year’s installment of the PYMNTS Intelligence Amazon Prime Day study drew from a July survey of nearly 6,000 United States consumers to understand their subscription and spending habits with the two retail giants. The results revealed that more than two-thirds of consumers are members of Prime, up from 65% last year. Meanwhile, 30% participate in Walmart+, up from 23% last year.