Amazon Faces Prime Membership Slowdown Even As Shoppers Spend Big
Amazon's Prime membership sign-ups have slowed, with 5.4 million new subscribers added in the U.S. over the 25 days leading up to and including Prime Day, falling short of last year's numbers and company targets. Despite record sales during the event, the lead-up weeks saw a decline in sign-ups. To boost growth, Amazon is ending account sharing outside households and expanding its student plan. Analysts remain optimistic about Amazon's long-term market share, although stock performance has been affected by slower growth in its cloud division.
Amazon.com AMZN extended its annual Prime Day sales event to four days this year, delivering record sales. Yet internal data reviewed by Reuters shows that U.S. Prime membership sign-ups fell short of both last year’s totals and the company’s own targets.
Over the 25-day period encompassing the three weeks before Prime Day and the four-day promotion itself, Amazon added 5.4 million new Prime subscribers in the U.S.
That figure was 116,000 fewer than the same period last year and 106,000 below the company’s goal, representing a decline of roughly 2% in both comparisons.
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During the event itself, however, Amazon signed up 1.6 million new U.S. members, exceeding its internal goal by about 6%. The shortfall came in the lead-up weeks, when 3.9 million new sign-ups trailed expectations by 193,000 and last year’s tally by 185,000.
In a bid to drive growth, Amazon has begun notifying customers that Prime account sharing outside a household will end on October 1. The company has also broadened its discounted student plan to cover individuals aged 18 to 24, introduced a six-month free trial, and committed more than $4 billion to expanding its rural delivery network.
Despite the membership slowdown, Wall Street remains constructive. JP Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth reiterated Amazon as his “Best Idea” in U.S. e-commerce, pointing to accelerating sales and an expanding Prime ecosystem. He forecasts Amazon’s market share will surpass 40% over the long term.
Amazon shares are up 3% so far in 2025, trailing the Nasdaq 100 Index’s 11% gain. The stock has been weighed down by slower growth at Amazon Web Services, its cloud division, even as peers have surged on artificial intelligence tailwinds. Investors increasingly see Amazon’s diversification as both a strength and a drag on near-term performance.
Price Action: Amazon stock is trading higher by 0.07% to $225.50 premarket at last check Wednesday.
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