Amazon Expands D-to-C 'Buy with Prime' to All US Merchants

"Buy with Prime," Amazon.com's direct-to-consumer (D-to-C) service that allows merchants to offer Prime benefits directly on their business's website, will be available to all U.S. merchants starting Jan. 31. Previously only offered by invitation only, the Buy with Prime service launched in April 2022 and has seen increased conversions by an average of 25 percent, according to an Amazon press release.

Starting at the end of this month, U.S.-based Prime members will be able to shop directly from merchants' online stores using their Prime account. They'll see the Prime logo on eligible products, and be able to get those products delivered for free, as fast as the next day, and be able to use Amazon's easy returns process.

“We’ve been working closely with merchants since the launch of Buy with Prime and have been thrilled to hear the results it’s helped drive for them so far,” said Peter Larsen, Amazon's vice president of Buy with Prime. “We’ll continue innovating and investing in new features, such as Reviews from Amazon, to help merchants of all sizes succeed and give Prime members the shopping benefits they love, whether it’s on Amazon or beyond.”

The Jan. 31 launch also comes with a new capability for Buy with Prime e-commerce merchants to display customer reviews from Amazon within their own online stores.

Total Retail's Take: It's no surprise that Amazon is looking to get its Prime logo in more places across the web — more than 166 million Amazon Prime members pay $139 per year for a membership — after a year that included shuttered warehouses, layoffs, closures of its physical stores, and controversies surrounding the e-commerce giant's use of sellers' data. Touting the benefits of Prime membership as means to drive sign-ups is core to Amazon's long-term strategy.

Furthermore, Amazon has had to compete with other large retailers' expansions and introductions of their own subscription and premium loyalty program offerings, including Walmart's $98/year subscription. Buy with Prime is also in direct competition with Shopify's instant checkout and payment service, Shop Pay. Shopify said in September that any merchant that uses Shop Pay and also adds the Buy with Prime button would be violating Shopify's terms of service.