How Amazon Convinced You to Pay Up for Shopping

Amazon is clearly entering its Prime. Meaning, of course, its $100 annual membership program, now a decade old, which has accomplished the remarkable feat of convincing millions of people to pay an annual fee for the privilege of, well, shopping.

An Amazon logo at the introduction of the new Amazon Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Paperwhite personal devices, in Santa Monica, Calif., on Sept. 6, 2012. E-commerce giant Amazon celebrated its 20th anniversary with results that sent investors into a buying frenzy. Amazon was the second biggest gainer in the S&P 500 for the year, up 115 percent through Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015. AP Photo/Reed Saxon

NEW YORK—Amazon is clearly entering its Prime. Meaning, of course, its $100 annual membership program, now a decade old, which has accomplished the remarkable feat of convincing millions of people to pay an annual fee for the privilege of, well, shopping.

Prime is now central to Amazon’s strategy of dominating the world of commerce. What started as a yearly fee for free two-day shipping now offers a sometimes bewildering array of perks, including household product subscriptions, one and two hour Prime Now delivery, streaming music and video, e-books, groceries (for an additional $200 a year), photo storage and more.

Prime has become an all-you-can-eat, physical-digital hybrid.

— Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon