Shopify Enables Buy with Prime on Its Merchants’ Stores
Amazon continues to roll out new ways to enable a more positive shopping experience for its customers, even if it means helping them buy products outside its platform.
Last week, the ecommerce giant announced that Amazon sponsored product ads will now be made visible on third-party websites and apps (e.g., Buzzfeed, Pinterest, etc.). This week, they partnered with ecommerce rival Shopify in a surprising move to introduce an app in Shopify's ecosystem. This app will now allow US-based merchants on Shopify access to Amazon's Buy with Prime option.
Why Did Shopify Partner With Amazon After It Warned Its Merchants Against Using the Service?
The move shocked some sellers, especially since Shopify warned them last year that those who integrate Buy with Prime on their storefront would be deemed violating Shopify’s terms of service.
One of the big reasons for the change is the exposure it will get from partnering with Amazon. Yahoo reports that after the agreement was made, Shopify’s shares rose by more than 2%, while Amazon’s stock didn’t even rise by 1%.
It can also be seen as Shopify doubling down on a move it made in 2018 when it accepted Venmo as one of the payment options. In the four years Venmo was added, Shopify’s gross merchandise volume rose from $41 billion to $197 billion.
Of course, the added payment method isn’t the sole reason Shopify’s numbers quintupled in just four years, but partnering with another big name company can help them forecast strong revenue growth in the years to come.
How Does Shopify’s Buy With Prime Integration With Amazon Work?
When it becomes available to all Shopify merchants, installing Buy with Prime from a Shopify store will be seamless and require no coding. The app will be available for new and existing Buy with Prime merchants. Once the app has been added, sellers can simply choose items from their inventory on Amazon that will have a Buy with Prime badge.
For each item selected, shoppers scrolling on Shopify will now find a Prime logo on that selected product, indicating that delivery will be handled by Amazon’s fulfillment network.
However, this is currently on an invite-only basis on Shopify. It will become available to all US-based Shopify merchants by the end of September.
Merchants will continue to own customer data that comes through purchases made with Buy with Prime. It will be even easier since sellers will see synced orders, promotions, catalog listings, and taxes within their Shopify admin automatically. As part of the integration, Amazon Pay will be added as a payment option within Shopify Payments, making it simpler for Shopify merchants to manage their Amazon Pay transactions.
What Incentives Do Online Stores Have by Integrating With Amazon’s Buy With Prime Program?
Buy with Prime was a program launched by Amazon in April 2022 allowing its customers to shop beyond Amazon and still enjoy the benefits of being a Prime member.
From a customer's perspective, it gives them more incentive to buy since it signifies that the item is available for delivery the next day and comes with easy returns.
For sellers, having that Prime logo and delivery promise will immediately increase trust and brand awareness among your intended customers. In addition, during the first nine months since launching, Amazon found that Buy with Prime increases a shopper’s likelihood to purchase by an average of 25%.
