Nearly three-quarters of consumers surveyed said they’re Amazon Prime members, whereas not even a quarter were Walmart Plus members, according to new data from Digital Commerce 360 and Bizrate Insights.

A 2024 free shipping survey of 1,019 online shoppers found that just 22.87% of those consumers were part of a paid membership program for a retailer other than Amazon and Walmart — two of the largest providers of fast and free shipping in the United States. Furthermore, 15.6% said they don’t pay for any online loyalty programs.

The full version of this article, with all its charts, is available to members. It is also available in the 2024 Edition of the Ecommerce Fulfillment Report.

That’s a noticeable disparity among the two largest online retailers in the Top 1000 Database. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of North America’s largest online retailers based on their annual web sales. Amazon ranks No. 1 in the database, and Walmart ranks No. 2.

A key benefit for consumers to sign up for loyalty and paid membership programs is free shipping. 105 retailers in the Top 1000 offer free shipping as part of a paid or free-membership loyalty program.

Diving a bit deeper, men were more likely than women to be members of Amazon Prime or Walmart Plus. In contrast, women were more likely to be paid loyalty program members at retailers other than Amazon and Walmart. They’re also more likely to not belong to any such loyalty programs.

Who signs up for paid loyalty membership programs?

Age-based demographics provide even more insights. For example, the 30-to-39 age group is most likely to be Amazon Prime members (77.43%), with those 40 to 54 following (74.32%). After that, the 18-to-29 age group is most likely (70.5%). Still, most of those 55 and older are Prime members, too — 69.85% of the 55-to-64 group, and 66.04% of the 65+ group.

For Walmart Plus, there’s a direct correlation between age and membership. More specifically, older groups are less likely to be Walmart Plus members. 40% of surveyed consumers ages 18 to 29 were Walmart Plus members. That went down to 31.52% for those 30 to 39, and then nearly halved (to 17.12%) for those 40 to 54.

Meanwhile, just 15.08% of shoppers 55 to 64 said they’re Walmart Plus members, and that fell to just 5.66% of those 65+.

Consumers 55 to 64 were most likely to be members of other retailer programs (30.15%), such as those from specialty stores, department stores or online retailers. Those 18 to 29 were least likely to join such paid loyalty membership programs.

Simultaneously, consumers 65 and older were most likely to not belong to any paid loyalty membership programs. Those ages 30 to 29 were least likely to not belong to any.

How does Amazon Prime membership affect online retail perceptions?

Amazon Prime’s same-day and next-day shipping options are not membership rewards that all loyalty programs offer. It’s part of what helps Amazon maintain a large share of online retail sales year after year.

More than half of respondents (54.12%) said they expect products they order online to arrive within a few days. The same amount said that if the price is the same on two online retailers’ websites, they will buy from the one that ships faster.

Still, fast shipping isn’t all that matters. Free shipping is a factor, too. Data that Digital Commerce 360 collects annually shows that fast and free shipping are consistently top factors that online consumers weigh when making purchases online.

But they’re not just priorities. They’re expectations.

52.77% of consumers said they expect retailers other than Amazon to offer free shipping. And just about a fifth of consumers said they expect online retailers other than Amazon to make more products available for same-day delivery.

Some consumers even went as far as to say they will not purchase from retailers who:

• Cannot deliver products the next day (4.99%)
• Can’t deliver in two days (8.64%)
• Do not offer a locker delivery option (4.05%)

Free shipping and shopping history

The majority of consumers said that most or all of their online orders in the past six months have included free shipping — and they’re specifically referring to orders placed outside of Amazon.

More specifically, 22.18% said all of their orders in that time frame included free shipping. The only option consumers selected more was that 75% to 99% of their orders in the past six months came with free shipping (27.18%). And about a fifth (20.51%) said half to 74% of their orders included free shipping.

On the other end, just 6.48% of consumers said that none of their orders in the past six months came with free shipping. Similarly, 5.2% said less than a tenth (1% to 9%) of their orders in that span featured free shipping.

What makes online shoppers pay for shipping?

The most clear reason a shopper would pay for shipping when shopping online is that the retailer did not offer free shipping, and the consumer wanted the product enough to pay. And whereas 42.39% cited that response, about a third (33.27%) said the total cost of the order was acceptable, even with the shipping charges included.

In other words, price still played the largest role in the purchase decision, even (maybe even especially) if there was a shipping fee.

Alternatively, just under a third (31.4%) said they might pay for shipping if it was only available on a site that has shipping fees. Meanwhile, just over a quarter (26.3%) said they’d pay for shipping if they didn’t have enough items in their cart to meet a free-shipping threshold. And about a quarter (25.81%) said they’d pay if they needed a product faster than what they can get with free shipping.

Less popular answers included not wanting to become a member of a retailer’s paid loyalty or free rewards program. Some consumers (7.85%) even said they would simply not complete a purchase if they had to pay for shipping.

Do you rank in our databases? 

Submit your data and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update.

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the online retail industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.