Amazon has implemented a new policy in their physical bookstores, Prime members get a discount on books they purchase, while everyone else pays the list price. The savings will certainly add up for people who frequently buy the latest release.
Books in the Amazon bookstore do not have a price on them. In order to find how much a book costs you will have to visit the cashier, scan it via one of the kiosks or use the Amazon Shopping App to scan the barcode. The discounts range from 6 percent to upwards of 40 percent.
Cashiers ask customers whether they have a Prime account when they go to checkout. Everyone who says no pays the sticker price. All things considered, it’s not a bad arrangement: many stores give perks to loyalty card holders, and this Prime membership discount is more or less the same.
I think offering a one month Amazon Prime trial to non-members at the bookstore is key. It gives them immediate discounts and it is very likely that they will convert into paid members to save money on books.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
