Amazon wants Prime Members to get more this festive season

Amazon is making a bigger pitch to its Prime members this festive season, with extra discounts, cashback, and faster deliveries as it looks to make the membership more valuable beyond early access to its sales.

The Amazon Great Indian Festival will begin on October 8.

The e-commerce giant will offer deals across categories including smartphones, electronics, home, fashion, beauty, grocery and more, but the bigger focus this year is on what Prime members get over and above the sale-wide discounts.


Prime members will get an additional 5% off on lakhs of products under what Amazon calls Prime Only Offers. Alternatively, they can build a shopping cart worth ₹2,500 and get ₹250 back. These offers will be over and above the discounts offered by brands and sellers, as well as applicable bank offers and Amazon Pay benefits.

Amazon said the Prime Only Offers are its largest-ever selection of additional savings for members. The company estimates that, on average, the incremental value from these offers could help a Prime member recover the entire cost of their membership.

Also Read: Amazon Now expands to 120 cities, doubles quick commerce footprint

“Speed continues to be an important benefit for Prime members,” Akshay Sahi, vice president, Prime and Customer Fulfilment Experience, India and Emerging Countries at Amazon, told ET Online.

The company is therefore also leaning heavily on faster delivery during the festive season. Same-day deliveries have grown 2.4 times year-on-year and now account for nearly half of Amazon’s fast deliveries, up from 29% a year ago. Amazon Now, the company’s quick-delivery service, currently operates in 120 cities and is expected to expand to 300.

During Prime Day earlier this year, one in two orders in cities where Amazon Now was available was delivered within minutes, while same-day deliveries grew more than threefold year-on-year.

For Amazon, the idea is to make Prime less about waiting for a major shopping event and more about getting value whenever customers need something.

“I think the biggest change has been the shift in consumer behaviour from planned shopping to more on-demand shopping,” Sahi said.

Ten years ago, when Amazon launched Prime in India, there was scepticism around whether customers would actually pay for a shopping subscription. Today, Sahi said, Prime has helped create the expectation that convenience and value can come together.

“Customers can of course wait for the shopping events, almost like festivals in our lives. But Prime also gives customers the confidence that when they shop on a regular day, they can get great savings, fast delivery and reliable service,” he said.

Amazon said it is on track to double its Prime membership base from 2023 by the end of this year. The membership is also spreading beyond India's major cities, with 70% of new Prime members this year coming from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

Also Read: Amazon to bet $3 billion on India's fast-delivery boom, sources say

The Prime push is also spilling into how customers discover products and offers. Amazon is using AI-powered systems to identify products that Prime members are likely to value and curate the Prime Only Offers from millions of products available on the platform.

The offers will be surfaced through the Amazon homepage and a dedicated storefront. Customers can also use Rufus, Amazon’s AI shopping assistant, to research products, compare options and get information on pricing and reviews.

But Sahi said the broader goal is to reduce the need for customers to plan their shopping around sale events.

“If they need something today, they can order it today and know that it will arrive quickly. If they need something else tomorrow, they can order that as well,” he said.

That is also where Amazon sees the next phase of Prime in India. Not just as a subscription that gives customers early access to sales, but as a service that builds a habit around everyday shopping.

“Ultimately, the idea is to build trust,” Sahi said. “Prime has helped build trust in online shopping and demonstrate that convenience does not have to be a luxury. Convenience can also come with great value.”