Amazon Ends Prime Perk of Sharing Free Shipping Outside Household
Amazon.com is eliminating its Invitee program that allowed Prime members to share their free shipping benefits with nonmembers outside the household, multiple news outlets reported this week.
For 15 years, Amazon allowed members of its loyalty Prime program to share the free, two-day shipping perk attached to a Prime membership with anyone, not just people in their household. The company said that program is being replaced by Amazon Family, which allows Prime members to share certain benefits with one other adult, up to four teenagers added before April 7, and up to four children in the household. The shareable benefits in Amazon Family include:
- Free delivery on Prime-eligible items
- Access to exclusive Prime events and deals
- Prime Video with ads
- Prime Reading
- Access to third-party benefits like Grubhub
- Digital content like audiobooks and games
The switch from the Invitee program to Amazon Family will occur Oct. 1. The Associated Press reported that Amazon has been notifying users of the change and encouraging nonmembers outside the household to get a one-year subscription for $14.99 — an offer valid through Dec. 31.
Total Retail's Take: The switch to only allowing people within a household to share benefits comes as Reuters reviewed internal Amazon data showing U.S. Prime signups have slowed, with 5.4 million U.S. sign-ups during the three weeks leading up to Prime Day and during its four-day sales event in July — down 116,000 signups from the same period a year earlier and 106,000 below the company's own goal.
Amazon rebuffed the data reported by Reuters, telling the news outlet it had achieved record-breaking sign-ups in the 25 days surrounding Prime Day.
Amazon isn't the only online company posing restrictions on who is able to access membership. Streaming services such as Netflix and HBO Max have also been cracking down on password sharing, a common practice in the age of streaming and loyalty services.
