Amazon has started its Prime delivery service in South Africa. It costs R59 a month or R399 a year. The much-hyped membership programme offers unlimited free deliveries, including on the same day, and its streaming video service, called Prime Video.
After Amazon’s buy-everything website itself, Prime is considered the next best thing the ecommerce giant has done to revolutionise online shopping. And it has.
Same-day or next-day deliveries weren’t a given when Amazon helped kick off the ecommerce revolution. Now they are. Because Amazon offered free, quick delivery, everybody else had to.
Even before Amazon.co.za was announced as going live, Takealot countered with its own next-day delivery service, which includes takeaways and grocery shopping through its Mr D delivery app.
But Prime is the granddaddy of digital membership programmes, and its video streaming option is itself a winner. I’ve used it for years, subscribing for a few months at a time to watch the excellent shows.
Amazon Prime time
Amazon is in a unique position as the biggest ecommerce player and cloud infrastructure provider, and Prime represents that – offering a range of diverse offerings, including the Twitch streaming service for gamers.
Amazon Sub-Saharan Africa managing director Robert Koen says since launching in South Africa two years ago, “we have built a store our customers love, with a great selection of local and international products backed by a reliable delivery experience.
“Launching Prime is the next exciting milestone on our journey in the country, deepening our commitment to becoming a meaningful part of South Africans’ daily lives by offering even more convenience, savings, and entertainment,” he adds.
Amazon Prime is R59 a month or R399 a year, which is an annual saving of R309 or 44%, it says.
It will also launch its annual specials day, called Prime Day, which runs from 23 to 29 June this year, and offers discounts on a range of products.
Amazon Prime benefits for members in South Africa include:
- Unlimited free same-day delivery on all orders placed before midday in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Pretoria with no minimum order spend.
- Unlimited free next-day delivery in major cities with no minimum order spend.
- Unlimited streaming of Amazon Originals and international licensed movies and series, including Reacher, Duplicity and The Summer I Turned Pretty, and Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story.
- Amazon Luna offers free cloud gaming, including Hogwarts Legacy, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Fortnite on any device.
- Free (monthly) Twitch channel subscription.
