Amazon is bringing its popular subscription service, Amazon Prime, to one of its fastest growing countries, India. On Tuesday, the e-commerce giant said that it launched Prime for customers in over 100 Indian cities.
Amazon Prime has emerged as one of the key pillars of the company’s e-commerce and streaming businesses. For $99 per year, Amazon Prime members can access and stream digital movies, TV shows, and Amazon’s original productions in addition to free two-day shipping and one-hour delivery on certain orders. According to a recent Consumer Intelligence Research Partners report, Prime has 54 million U.S. Members, up 35% from 2014. Furthermore, 38% of American households are members, according to research from investment bank Cowen.
While the U.S. May be one of Amazon’s largest markets for Prime, Amazon has been steadily expanding the program internationally, including to the U.K., France, Italy, Japan, and others. India marks a particularly interesting expansion because the technology giant has been betting on the country as one of its next big markets outside the United States.
Amazon told Coins2Day’s Vivienne Walt late last year that India will be its biggest market after the United States within a decade. Diego Piacentini, Amazon’s senior vice president for international retail, posited that the sales opportunity for Amazon is measured in trillions of dollars.
For Indian customers, Amazon is offering an initial discounted price for Prime at $7.41 per year. Amazon didn’t reveal a date as to when the promotion ends, but Prime will normally cost $14.83 per year. The Prime subscription in India will include unlimited free one-day and two-day delivery on eligible products, access to daily deals earlier than non-Prime members, as well as access to exclusive deals.
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Within 20 cities in India, Prime members will be able to also choose same-day, morning, or scheduled delivery for an extra charge of $0.75 on over 10,000 products. For deliveries to cities not yet eligible for one-day or two-day delivery, members will receive free delivery with no minimum purchase limit.
One big difference in Amazon’s Indian version of Prime is that it doesn’t yet come with access to streaming movies, music, and TV shows. But according to one report, Amazon is investing $300 million into creating local content to be streamed to its Prime membership in India. That sum is part of the $3 billion Amazon committed to investing in India earlier this summer as the e-commerce company looks to compete with local rival Flipkart.