Quote:
Originally Posted by Quoth
Is there proof Prime is the bulk of customers?
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Of course there is.
Here:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/...aying-members/
It's only up to 2019, but when you consider Amazon prime subscriptions are *household* subscriptions and they have something over 80million subscriptions in the US, vs 128M households, that makes it about two thirds of customers.
More, prime subscribers spend $1400 a year vs $600 for the non-subscribers.
Feel free to bring up class differences; Amazon makes no bones that they court the more affluent even though they offer significant subscription discounts to welfare recipients and students.
As for greed, yes, they want every last penny they can get.
So what?
Who gets into commerce if they don't want to maximize profits?
Not everybody does it well but it still isn't illegal to be good at it. Not in the US, not in Russia a not China, nor even in Europe.
The past two centuries have made it clear that business succes is a snowball; the more successful you are, the bigger you get and the bigger you get the more successful you are. And the trend isn't stopping. If anything it is accelerating. Most of us here will live to see the day of the trillionaires. Plural. And they won't get there by selling ebooks or internet video. They will literally make their money in a vacuum.
Now if you want to see how Amazon might get cut to size, here:
https://www.economist.com/briefing/2...uthful-startup
Enjoy.
Do note however that the likely candidates are Microsoft, WalMart, Google, and Facebook. Maybe Apple. Not Nook or Kobo or Tolino or Rakuten nor Ali Baba. Or any local retailer. While everybody focuses on retail Amazon has moved on to more profitable businesses.
"Greedy" all.
The video story varies by location. So viewer habits will vary.
My most subscription is HBOMAX which, like Disney+ is rolling out in phases.
I preordered so I got a discount to Netflix prices.For $12 a month I get everything on HBO (on my schedule, not theirs) and everything from 8 other WB subsidiaries.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HBO_Max
They're still ramping up so they only launched with 10,000 Hours on content. Not everybody is going to like everything but most folks wil find enough to justify the price. Be it ten years of Doctor Who, WATCHMEN, HIS DARK MATERIALS, the new DUNE SERIES, a few thousand classic movies, or every Looney Tune cartoon ever. Ad-free.
Being big means tbey have something for everybody willing to pay.
Netflix has 160M subscribers, Disney+ has 52M after only six months. PRIME has 150M.
And it's not just video.
Microsoft has 60M subscribers to Microsoft 365, 64 million more to XBOX LIVE, 10m to GamePass.
Sony has 36 Million on Playstation Plus.
Spotify has 83M *paid* subscribers.
And there's hundreds more services in music, video, ebooks, online storage, site hosting, and yes, shopping.
They don't seem to think subscriptions are a ripoff.
It's all about knowing what your needs are and aligning your interests and spending.
For people with high shipping costs three or for Amazon will pay for Prime. Or if you like ebooks, the 12 free ebooks you *choose* make up half of Prime right there. Bingeing two series a year (Say, Bosch, The Boys, or the Expanse) can make up the rest, even if you don't buy anything.
For gamers, $10 a month for GAME PASS on PC or XBOX means access to over a hundred games, including many AAA games from launch day.
It's not just ebooks where "stock it and they will come" is a failure.
It's the age of the Mall Apocalypse, online everything, and cordcutting.
Whole new age a-borning.
And tbat was before the lockdowns.