Ecommerce customers around the world love Amazon’s seamless checkout experience and the fast, free shipping that comes with an Amazon Prime membership. In 2022, Amazon was ranked the most trusted brand by US consumers.
What’s more, 62% of customers expect orders with free shipping to arrive in less than three business days. If you’re interested in offering Amazon Prime delivery, read on to learn how you can tap into an engaged community and sell products directly to Prime members.
What is Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime is a program that offers members free, two-day shipping and returns on eligible products, plus a wide range of other benefits.
The Prime badge appears in search results to show customers a product is eligible for fast, free shipping through Amazon Prime. It also signals to customers that they can expect a convenient, reliable, and familiar buying experience.
What are the benefits of selling to Prime members?
Offering Prime delivery on ecommerce orders can help you:
- Expand your reach and connect with a larger audience
- Increase sales and conversions
- Enhance your likelihood of becoming the Featured Offer
- Rank better in search results through search engine optimization (SEO)
If you want to boost your bottom line and improve visibility for your business, Amazon Prime can be a great path to explore.
- Best-Seller badge
- New Release badge
- Small Business badge
- Black-Owned Business badge
- Women-Owned Business badge
- Climate Pledge Friendly badge
How to become an Amazon Prime seller: 3 ways to get the Prime badge
You can get started selling to Amazon Prime members in three steps:
- Sign up for an account with the Amazon selling plan of your choice.
- List products for sale in the Amazon store.
- Pick your fulfillment method.
Fulfillment refers to the way a business gets ecommerce orders to customers. Several fulfillment methods can allow you to offer customers shipping through Prime. Here’s an overview of three routes you can take:
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
The Prime badge is one of many benefits of enrolling a product in Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). With FBA, you send products into Amazon’s fulfillment network. When a customer places an order, we pick, pack, and ship on your behalf, in addition to handling customer service and returns. As part of Supply Chain by Amazon, FBA can help you save time, reduce operational costs, and grow your business.
When you enroll a product in FBA, it automatically becomes eligible for free shipping through Amazon Prime.
Multi-Channel Fulfillment
Supply Chain by Amazon includes the option to extend FBA services through Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF). With MCF, you can outsource fulfillment for orders that customers place through your website and other sales channels.
MCF allows you to use the inventory you’ve sent into Amazon’s fulfillment network. By combining MCF with our Buy with Prime program, your eligible products display the Prime badge on your website, so customers know they can get fast, reliable fulfillment.
I love Buy with Prime because we’re able to direct traffic to our website. We have that brand trust [from Amazon] and our customers receive their product in two days with FBA. It’s awesome.
Seller Fulfilled Prime
Seller Fulfilled Prime lets you put Prime branding on the listings for products you fulfill without Amazon. You can enroll in the program after demonstrating that you provide the seamless customer experience and delivery speeds that Prime members expect.
To enroll in Seller Fulfilled Prime, you need to prequalify for the program by meeting performance requirements, then successfully complete a 30-day trial. Once enrolled, your designated products display the Prime badge, showing your commitment to provide fast and free delivery, plus free returns for domestic Prime customers.
Learn more about Seller Fulfilled Prime
7 tips for selling successfully with Amazon Prime
1. Get to know your audience
Who are your intended customers? Do they shop online? Do they have a Prime membership? If so, you might be able to expand your reach by offering products to Amazon Prime members.
Conduct audience research to learn more about who your current audience is and what potential customers you want to reach with different strategies. A fulfillment method that supports Prime shipping could be a great way to reach new customers, increase sales, and grow your ecommerce business.
2. Choose product categories
Some product types might be more challenging and expensive to fulfill compared to others. For example, you might need to take special measures for storing and shipping fragile, hazardous, or bulky products. Products that expire or need refrigeration could also require you to have systems in place to ensure they’ll reach customers safely and in good condition.
Depending on your product category, fulfillment considerations might increase your costs. But if you can sell products at price points that allow you to maintain healthy margins, the increase in revenue could more than cover any extra expenses.
3. Optimize logistics
Do you want to personally oversee each step of your fulfillment process? Or would you rather outsource some or all of your fulfillment tasks? Your answers to these questions can help you decide what fulfillment methods might work best for your business.
In terms of logistics, do you have a smaller, self-contained operation selling products that you can easily store in an accessible space like a spare room or garage? If so, you might want to handle fulfillment directly through Amazon’s Fulfilled by Merchant program.
If you have high turnover rates and want to move large volumes, FBA and MCF might be able to help you scale effectively.
Find out if FBA is worth it for your business
You can also use a combination of fulfillment methods. For example, you might want to use Fulfilled by Merchant for bulky items with lower demand, while reserving FBA for smaller items that sell quickly.
4. Research the competition
Are there other businesses who offer similar products to the ones in your catalog? Are the price points comparable? If your offers display the Prime badge and competing offers don’t, it could be a deciding factor for customers.
If you don’t offer Prime shipping, you might want to consider other ways to stay competitive. For example, you might be able to offer compelling price points or focus your marketing on key differences in product quality or special features.
5. Earn positive reviews
A customer-centric approach can help you improve the shopping experience, earn positive reviews, and increase sales. Take a close look at each step of the ecommerce process through the eyes of the customer. Are there improvements you could make?
A key area where you might be able to make optimizations is the delivery timeframe. Positive reviews can also depend on your ability to ensure products reach buyers in good condition. Avoid negative reviews by taking measures like proper packaging and labeling so products don’t get damaged in transit and arrive within the expected delivery timeframe.
Delivering products with speed and reliability can be a great way to boost customer satisfaction and earn positive reviews. As a seller, you can also use tools like Customer Review Insights in Seller Central to keep track of customer feedback, ratings, and reviews.
6. Estimate costs and margins
Your operating costs can vary depending on what fulfillment method you use. For example, FBA uses a pay-as-you-go model with storage and fulfillment costs charged per unit and per order. Like other methods for storing and shipping products, FBA costs can be based on product size, weight, and the amount of time you require storage.
If you fulfill orders directly, you might have to factor in costs related to warehousing, staffing, and inventory-management systems. Balance potential expenses like these with potential sales. And remember, revenue could look different depending on whether you make products available to Prime members.
Explore free sales estimation tools to ensure you’ll be able to turn a profit with the fulfillment method you choose. One option is the Amazon Revenue Calculator, which lets you compare potential costs and margins for FBA with your own fulfillment method.
Use the Revenue Calculator to estimate sales
7. Participate in Prime Day and other big sales events
Sellers can see sales spike during ecommerce shopping events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Prime Day, an event with exclusive deals for Amazon Prime members. Prime Day saw record-breaking sales in 2024, with independent sellers selling more than 200 million items. Offering Prime Exclusive Discounts during these high-traffic events can be a great way to help boost sales, bring attention to new products, or reduce aging inventory.
As an Amazon seller, you can use many tools, programs, and resources to help you launch or build your own brand. We’re here to support your success as you start and scale your business.
*A Professional selling plan is $39.99 a month + selling fees. Learn more
