From CNET: If it weren't for Prime, Amazon might have just been the name of a river in South America.
The top revenue-maker in online retail worldwide owes much of its success to its Prime membership service, which the Seattle company started in 2005 with an offer of free and speedy shipping. All you have to do is pay an annual fee.
In the 10 years since then, Amazon has been piling on goodies to lure more customers into the club, after realizing Prime can lock customers into its website and services.
There's good reason for this too. Prime benefits are so enticing that once folks plunk down the $99 annual entry fee, they're transformed into cash machines for Amazon's retail business, usually spending twice as much on the site as nonmembers. With an estimated 47 million US accounts, Prime has become so successful that rivals Walmart and eBay started testing similar membership shipping programs.
"Prime is doing well and is the key to the retail strategy," said David Mitchell Smith, an analyst for Gartner who researches Amazon. "It builds loyalty and makes it so that people spend more."
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