Chicago – Amazon Prime subscribers and Kindle owners buy more from Amazon than other Amazon customers, says a survey by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP.)
The two programs “have become significant drivers of Amazon sales, even in light of the recent Amazon Prime price increase and significant competition in the tablet computing market,” the company said.
“Both serve as superb affinity programs for Amazon, as Kindle owners spend 30 percent more, and Prime members spend twice as much, as the rest of Amazon’s customers,” said CIRP co-founder Mike Levin.
In early April, CIRP surveyed 500 people who made a purchase on Amazon in the first quarter. Thirty-five percent were Amazon Prime subscribers, and another 7 percent were members of the Amazon Student or Amazon Mom programs.
Of the surveyed Amazon purchasers, 23 percent owned a Kindle Fire tablet, 13 percent owned a Kindle e-reader, and 12 percent owned both for an overall 48 percent ownership rate.
Based on the survey, CIRP estimates that at the end of the first quarter, Amazon Prime had 27.8 million members in the U.S., and 31.3 million people owned a Kindle Fire tablet or Kindle e-reader.
The company also said Amazon Prime subscriptions have grown quickly, with almost one-third of current Amazon Prime members joining in the past year.
The recent price hike in Prime subscription rate to $99 won’t deter many current subscribers from retaining membership, CIRP also found. Almost 90 percent of current Amazon Prime members say they will definitely or probably renew their membership. That’s only 5 percent fewer who responded the same before the price increase was announced, CIRP said.
