Amazon seems to have found the right strategy to tap the shoppers that matter in India.
Customers in the country aged between 18 and 24 can now get an annual Prime subscription at half the price, the Seattle-headquartered company announced yesterday (July 12).
The Prime membership includes unlimited, free, and expedited delivery on eligible products, early access to deals and offers on the e-commerce portal, access to the company’s video streaming platform Prime Video, music streaming app Prime Music, and e-book arm Prime Reading.
Prime membership in India costs Rs999 ($14.57) a year, but 18-24 year-olds are now eligible for Rs500 cashback on the purchase. To avail the discount, users will need to verify their age on Amazon.in’s official Android or iOS apps by uploading their PAN card, proof of mailing address, and a photo. The cashback will be deposited in a customer’s Amazon Pay account, and can be used for making purchases on Amazon.in, bill payments and recharges.
The strategy allows Amazon to tap into a huge consumer base as more than half of India’s population is under the age of 25.
To be sure, this is not the first time that Amazon has targetted this demographic in India. Last year, it had offered Vodafone users in the same age bracket a prime membership for half the price.
Right timing
The offer comes as Amazon is gearing for its Prime Day sale event on July 15-16, where members will get “thousands of deals” on smartphones, laptops, fashion, beauty, and everyday essentials. Prime Day sale will also include blockbuster video titles and celebrity curated music playlists, Amazon said in its press release.
Indians shop the most during sales. In 2018, Indian shoppers spent a whopping Rs15,300 crore ($2 billion) during discount events hosted by marketplaces like Flipkart, Amazon, Paytm Mall, and others, according to estimates by financial services firm Visa.
India’s e-commerce revenue is expected to jump from $39 billion in 2017 to $120 billion in 2020 on the back of an increasingly digital-savvy young demographic that’s driving up smartphone and internet usage.