Comparing Amazon Prime to Two Top Rivals

Shoppers are getting hooked on the benefits of retail subscription programs, if new data from research firm Numerator is any indication.

Numerator’s Retail Membership Tracker compared Amazon Prime, Walmart+, and Target’s Shipt Everyday programs and found that nearly two-thirds of US households (62%) subscribe to at least one retail membership.

Over half (53.6%) of US households subscribe to Amazon Prime, 8.1% subscribe to Walmart+, and 1.3% subscribe to Target Shipt Everyday. (Shipt Everyday is available in limited markets.)

There are differences among the three programs. The research firm found that overall, Amazon Prime retained the highest satisfaction rate, while Walmart+ has shown the fastest adoption. As for Target, its Shipt Everyday program is breaking out with same-day delivery and capturing more trips, spending, and share from subscribers than Amazon or Walmart, according to Numberator.

Another interesting factoid: Of those households that subscribe to a program, 80% subscribe to one program, 13.8% subscribe to two programs, 3.7% subscribe to three, and 2.5% subscribe to four or more.

One thing that popped out at EcommerceBytes is that Amazon Prime likely paved the way for rivals by doing the initial hard work of selling shoppers on the benefits of retail subscription programs. Numerator found that nearly three-quarters (73%) of Walmart+ subscribers also have Amazon Prime, while 53% of Shipt Everyday members also have Prime.

However, 80% of Prime members intend to renew, compared to 49% of Shipt subscribers and 48% of Walmart+ subscribers.

Consumers place the highest value on shipping speed. Shipt members are significantly more likely to cite Same Day Delivery as a key benefit to membership, Numerator found, and Amazon Prime members claim Expedited Shipping as a key benefit.

You can check out the tracker on the Numerator website, which includes details such as each program’s Net Promoter Score and customer satisfaction rankings.

Ina Steiner

Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.