Over seven years, Amazon has grown Prime selection by 15 times from
one million to 15 million; added Kindle Owners’ Lending Library with
over 180,000 books available to borrow for free; and introduced Prime
Instant Video with over 22,000 movies and TV episodes available for
instant unlimited streaming – all without changing the price – still
only $79 per year
Kindle Fire owners receive one free month of Prime with the purchase
of their device
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 2012--
(NASDAQ:AMZN) – In 2005, Amazon launched Amazon Prime, offering
customers all-you-can-eat Free Two-Day Shipping on one million items for
only $79 per year. Since that time, Amazon has significantly increased
the benefits of Prime – adding over 14 million eligible items to reach
over 15 million; introducing Prime Instant Video, growing the number of
movies and TV episodes from 5,000 at launch to over 22,000; and adding
the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, which started with 5,000 books to
borrow for free with no due dates and now includes over 180,000 books.
With all these new benefits, the price of Prime remains just $79. Today,
Amazon announced that it now ships more items with Prime Free Two-Day
Shipping than with Free Super Saver Shipping – the program Amazon
launched in 2002 that offers free shipping on orders over $25.
“Since Amazon launched in 1995, we’ve been focused on growing selection
for our customers. Following the introduction of Amazon Prime in 2005,
we’ve worked hard to grow Prime selection as well. We’re incredibly
proud to be able to offer more than 15 million Prime items today. We’ve
also grown the Prime Instant Video library to more than 22,000 movies
and TV episodes, all with unlimited streaming, and Prime members can
borrow more than 180,000 books for free, with no due dates, using the
Kindle Owners’ Lending Library – that’s up from roughly 5,000 when the
program launched less than a year ago,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO
of Amazon. “Even seven years later, the price of Prime remains unchanged
at $79 a year. Amazon Prime is the best bargain in the history of
shopping, and it’s going to keep getting better.”
Amazon Prime Facts:
-
The top two items purchased with Prime Free Two-Day Shipping this year
so far are the Kindle Fire and the $79 Kindle. Kindle Touch is number
three and “Fifty Shades of Gray: Book One” is number four.
-
Amazon Prime now features more than 15 million unique items, all with
Prime Free Two-Day Shipping.
-
Amazon Prime members could order 500 different items with Prime Free
Two-Day Shipping every day of their lives and still not order every
Prime item.
-
In a given week, 96.4 percent of the Prime Instant Video catalog is
viewed.
-
The number of titles available for unlimited streaming through Prime
Instant Video has increased from roughly 5,000 titles at launch to
over 22,000 today. Just this year alone, the title count has grown
from 13,000 to over 22,000, an increase of 70 percent.
-
In addition to hundreds of compatible TVs and Blu-ray players, you can
now watch Prime Instant Video on Kindle Fire, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360,
and iPad.
-
The number of titles available through the Kindle Owners’ Lending
Library has increased from roughly 5,000 at launch, less than one year
ago, to over 180,000 today.
-
The most watched TV show available through Prime Instant Video is
Downton Abbey Season 1.
-
The most watched movie available through Prime Instant Video is The
Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (English Subtitled).
-
All seven Harry Potter titles are now available to check out, for
free, with no due dates through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.
-
The most borrowed title in the history of Kindle Owners’ Lending
Library is The Hunger Games.
“I'm a long-time Amazon customer and when they came up with Prime a few
years ago I jumped on it! With Amazon Prime, in many cases I can have
something delivered to my doorstep faster than I can find time to go
shopping for it. Now with all the other benefits, such as free borrowing
of Kindle books and watching instant videos, it has become an even
better value.” – Bill Ebersohl, Amazon Prime Member since 2005
“I've been a member of the Amazon Prime program since it launched and I
find it a valuable savings for my purchases through Amazon. It
especially pays for itself during my holiday shopping...It is a great
value for your money to have a membership and I recommend it to
everyone!” – John Kelch, Amazon Prime Member since 2005
“We signed up for Prime as soon as it became available, because we
immediately saw the value and convenience we would get from it. The fact
that the yearly fee for Prime has not increased in seven years is even
better, especially when members now get more perks with instant
streaming of movies and TV programs and the ebook lending library.” –
Mollie Mondoux, Amazon Prime Member since 2005
About Prime
Amazon Prime is an annual membership program for $79 a year that offers
customers unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items including
books, home and garden products, electronics, video games, clothing, and
much more. Amazon Prime members also get access to unlimited instant
streaming of thousands of movies and TV episodes and access to tens of
thousands of books to borrow for free, as frequently as a book a month,
with no due dates from a Kindle device. Customers who receive free Prime
shipping benefits through our Amazon Student or Amazon Mom programs can
upgrade to an annual paid membership to receive Amazon Prime’s digital
benefits. Kindle Fire owners receive one free month of Prime with the
purchase of their device if they have not received Prime benefits in the
past.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle,
opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s
Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most
customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything
they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the
lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of
unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books;
Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home
& Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health &
Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web
Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to
in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end
technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any
type of business. The new latest generation Kindle is the lightest, most
compact Kindle ever and features the same 6-inch, most advanced
electronic ink display that reads like real paper even in bright
sunlight. Kindle Touch is a new addition to the Kindle family with an
easy-to-use touch screen that makes it easier than ever to turn pages,
search, shop, and take notes – still with all the benefits of the most
advanced electronic ink display. Kindle Touch 3G is the top of the line
e-reader and offers the same new design and features of Kindle Touch,
with the unparalleled added convenience of free 3G. Kindle Fire is the
Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games and
web browsing with all the content, free storage in the Amazon Cloud,
Whispersync, Amazon Silk (Amazon’s new revolutionary cloud-accelerated
web browser), vibrant color touch screen, and powerful dual-core
processor.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com,
www.amazon.co.uk,
www.amazon.de,
www.amazon.co.jp,
www.amazon.fr,
www.amazon.ca,
www.amazon.cn,
www.amazon.it,
and www.amazon.es.
As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include
Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates
otherwise.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly
from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to
competition, management of growth, new products, services and
technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international
expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center
optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and
strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption,
inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More
information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's
financial results is included in Amazon.com's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most
recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.
Source: Amazon.com, Inc.
Amazon.com, Inc.
Media Hotline, 206-266-7180
www.amazon.com/pr
