A new study found that 83% of Walmart+ members also have an Amazon Prime membership, while Amazon Prime members spend 15% of their dollars at Walmart and 13% at Amazon. The report was published on Tuesday, the same day Target announced it will also be getting into the membership game, and a week after eBay’s CEO boasted of membership-like behavior from its 16 million “enthusiast” shoppers.
Research firm Numerator surveyed panelists who belonged to membership programs of the two retail giants (and verified their membership). Amazon Prime launched in 2005 at $79 a year, while Walmart+ launched in 2020 at $98 a year. Not surprisingly, people willing to pay an annual fee in exchange for perks spend more than those who don’t.
According to Numerator’s findings, members of Walmart+ are four times more likely to have used Walmart’s grocery delivery services in the past year (81% vs. 20% of all Walmart shoppers).
Amazon Prime members are evenly distributed across US regions and urban areas (“urbanicities”) and they outspend the average Amazon shopper by 12% annually.
Walmart+ members predominantly reside in the South Atlantic, West South Central, and East South Central regions of the US, and they spend 76% more than the average Walmart shopper (31% more in-store and 206% more at walmart.com).
Target announced on Tuesday it would be launching a $99 Target 360 membership program offering free same-day delivery on orders over $35 and free 2-day shipping (shoppers will be able to get the first year for $49 through a special offer that ends on May 18, 2024).
eBay doesn’t want to be left out of the discussion when it comes to membership programs, despite the fact it only offers eBay Plus membership in Germany and Australia. During last week’s quarterly earnings call, eBay CEO Jamie Iannone called the behavior of its “enthusiast buyers” as valuable as those in rival membership programs.
eBay has seen a significant decline in active buyers in recent years. When a Wall Street analyst asked about buyer growth during the call, Iannone said the buyer number was exactly where he expected it to be, adding, “Our enthusiast buyers are spending over $3,000, which is essentially like membership level spends, when you think about it.”
You can find Numberator’s report, “Retailer Membership Review: Walmart+ vs. Amazon Prime,” on the Numerator.com website.
Doesn’t EB have store subscriptions? WHY would it have memberships? Unless it’s going to change from store subscriptions to memberships. And then the sellers would be FORCED to offer FREE SHIPPING….you think?
eBay stores are subscriptions for sellers – the memberships referenced are for buyers. And yes, if eBay offered a “free shipping” membership program for buyers, who would subsidize it?