Free 2-day shipping a bigger
driver of U.S. subscriptions than video, unlike other countries
Boston, MA –
April 8, 2015. Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. are more
likely to use Netflix than Prime Instant Video, according to global
intelligence firm Strategy Analytics.
Click here for the report
Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Amazon Prime subscribers used Netflix in the
previous month compared to 59% who used Prime Instant Video.
“In contrast to countries such as the UK and Germany, Americans are
more likely to subscribe to Amazon Prime for free 2 day shipping than for Prime
Instant Video,” said Leika Kawasaki, Strategy Analytics’ digital media analyst.
“For example, Americans are twice as likely as Britons to cite free 2 day
shipping as ‘very important’ in deciding to subscribe and they’re less likely
to use the video service regularly.”
Less than half (44%) of Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. use Prime Instant
Video at least once a week, compared to 55% in Germany and 54% in the U.K.
“Amazon is needlessly ‘losing’ users to Netflix when, in fact, it
should be eating into their user base,” says Kawasaki. “Amazon Prime offers
subscribers multiple benefits, there are more Amazon-capable devices and the
subscription is slightly cheaper. Yes, Prime Instant Video has been lagging behind
Netflix in original programming but it’s been making significant moves to
address this recently.”
“One avenue is to entice more people to use Amazon devices, such as the
Kindle and Fire TV, as owners of these are 10% more likely to use Prime Instant
Video regularly. However, this won’t be easy, Amazon has not had the same level
of success as Apple in creating a unified ecosystem of device and services.”
Strategy Analytics research shows that among online U.S. adults not
currently subscribing to Amazon Prime, 12% are ‘somewhat likely’ to subscribe
in the next year, while 4% are ‘very likely.’ The main reason people won’t
subscribe (cited by 53% of respondents) is the price is too high.
Report Authors
Leika
Kawasaki, Strategy Analytics, +1 617 614 0738, lkawasaki@strategyanalytics.com
Michael Goodman, Strategy Analytics, +1 617 614 0769, mgoodman@strategyanalytics.com