Three years after it set up shop in India, ecommerce giant Amazon has launched its Prime Delivery program in the country.
For Rs. 499 a year, subscribers in more than 100 cities will receive their orders of eligible products within one or two days at no extra charge, as well as discounts on same-day, morning and scheduled deliveries in major cities like Bangalore, New Delhi and Hyderabad.
In addition, Prime members will also be able to view Lightning Deals on the site 30 minutes before other customers.
That’s about it – unlike the Prime program in the US, Amazon hasn’t yet bundled its streaming music and video services with the subscription in India. However, the company says it will soon launch Prime Video in India with global and local content soon.
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So, is it worth signing up for? Perhaps, if you don’t care to visit brick-and-mortar stores and shop online on Amazon India frequently.
Amazon charges Rs. 40 for standard delivery, which takes 2-10 days; that fee is waived if your order unless the order contains ‘fulfilled by Amazon’ products worth at least Rs. 499. For one-day and two-day delivery, you’ll be billed an additional Rs. 100 and Rs. 80 respectively.
With Prime, you won’t incur any delivery charges for these options, and there’s no minimum order amount to worry about.
As for same-day, morning, and scheduled deliveries, Prime members will have to pay only Rs. 50, as compared to non-Prime customers who are charged Rs. 150 per rush order.
Amazon Prime is similar to Flipkart First, which costs Rs. 500 a year for free shipping and one-day delivery with no minimum orders at the rival store.
Amazon’s program would be a lot easier to recommend if, like the US version, it bundled streaming media and unlimited photo storage right away, but those aren’t yet available. Plus, the Rs. 499 price is only an introductory offer; it’ll eventually cost you Rs. 999 a year.
Still, it’s certainly worth trying out. Amazon is offering a free 60-day trial that you can sign up for right away.
Are you registering for Amazon Prime in India? Let us know in the comments.
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