Amazon.com Inc. now has more than 100 million items eligible for free two-day Prime shipping, up from more than 50 million a year ago, and it shipped more than 5 billion items via Prime last year, the e-retailer said Tuesday.
Those 5 billion products shipped with Prime included free same-day, one-day and two-day shipping. Amazon’s loyalty program typically costs $99 a year or $10.99 a month and includes free two-day shipping and such perks as streaming video and music.
Amazon did not release numbers but said “more new paid members joined Prime worldwide than any previous year” and that Prime members around the world used the program’s digital benefits more in 2017 than in years past.
Amazon, No. 1 in the Internet Retailer 2017 Top 500, does not release the number of Prime customers except to say it has tens of millions of members in 16 countries. An estimate from securities research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) pegs Prime membership at 90 million as of Sept. 30. That means an estimated 63% of all Amazon customers in the U.S. are part of the program, according to CIRP.
Prime one-day shipping and same-day delivery are available in more than 8,000 U.S. cities and towns, and Prime Now, which is a two-hour delivery offering, is in more than 30 major cities, according to Amazon.
“In 2017, the Amazon fulfillment and shipping network increased by more than 30% in square footage worldwide,” Amazon said. “In the U.S. alone, more than 6,000 trailers and 32 Amazon Air planes were in place to serve Prime members during the year.”
Other Prime points noted by Amazon:
- Prime began operating in Mexico, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Singapore in 2017, Amazon said, joining the U.S., the U.K., Spain, Japan, Italy, India, Germany, France, China, Canada, Belgium and Austria.
- Instant Pot was hot. The high-tech pressure cooker was the most popular gift item on the Amazon Wedding Registry and the most popular wish list item among Prime members, having been delivered to more than 27,000 ZIP codes in the United States. The Instant Pot Cookbook was the most gifted book by members in the U.S. last year, Amazon said, though it did not release numbers.
- In late December, Amazon said global consumers shopped on the e-commerce site at “record levels” during the holiday season. More than 4 million consumers started a Prime free trial or paid membership in one week alone during the holiday season, although Amazon did not specify which week.