Buy with Prime, which brings Prime to third-party sites, officially launches in U.S. on Jan. 31 • TechCrunch
Amazon announced this morning it’s expanding its Buy with Prime service to U.S.-based merchants by the end of the month. The service, which allows third-party merchants to offer Prime benefits like free shipping and returns on their own apps, was initially only available to those merchants who were already using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to handle their shipping and logistics.
The service was first introduced in Spring 2022, with FBA merchants and other select merchants on an invite-only basis.
With Buy with Prime, consumers get fast, free delivery, similar to Amazon.com’s Prime service, plus seamless checkout, and easier returns, allowing merchants to establish their own direct relationships with customers, Amazon says.
Since its April debut, Amazon claims the offering has increased shopper conversion by an average of 25%.
It notes that it measured Buy with Prime’s success by comparing conversions on the sites where Buy with Prime was offered as a purchase option to those where it was not during the same time period. In a press release, Wyze confirmed it was seeing a 25% higher conversion rate on Buy with Prime and noted it has added the option to all items in its catalog. Meanwhile, skincare brand Trophy Skin said the option to check out using Buy with Prime had resulted in a conversion rate increase of over 30%. An electrolyte drink mix brand, Hydralyte, meanwhile reported a 14% increase in conversion.
In addition to the expansion, the retail giant also introduced another new feature, Reviews from Amazon, which will allow Buy with Prime merchants to showcase reviews on their own online stores to help further increase conversions and consumer trust. The feature will offer the ability to display ratings and reviews from Amazon customers at no additional cost. After a shopper leaves a review on Amazon.com, that review will then appear on the merchant’s site wherever Buy with Prime is enabled.
“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 vice president of Buy with Prime, in a statement. “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.”
Haircare brand Sustainable Glam is already planning to offer the feature, it said.
BigCommerce said it will launch the Buy with Prime app in the first quarter, as well, allowing merchants on its platform to add the option without needing to write code.
Buy with Prime will open up to all interested U.S.-based merchants on Jan. 31, 2023 and no invitation will be required at that point.
