Consumers subscribe to Amazon Prime and Walmart+ primarily to save money, but also to gain access to perks and added services. With free shipping and streaming access to movies and television shows, the monthly memberships offer lifestyle conveniences and discretionary indulgences as well as savings. These one-stop-shop retailers are each vying to be the dominant way consumers compare prices to ensure they find the best deals and lead their best lives. And increasingly, each company is winning—though not in the same way.
This phenomenon is evident in the recent surge of dual sign-ups, with the share of consumers subscribing to both Amazon Prime and Walmart+ nearly doubling since 2021. Millennials lead the way, with 37% now holding both memberships.
At the same time, strengths and weaknesses are emerging in the battle between the two eCommerce platforms. Nearly three in 10 (28%) U.S. consumers had a Walmart+ subscription in February 2025, either on its own or in tandem with at least one other subscription—almost double the 15% level four years ago. Yet this growth came largely from existing Amazon Prime subscribers signing up for Walmart+, rather than from new customers who didn’t have either subscription. Deliberately or not, Walmart is functionally tapping its rival as a feeder of new shoppers to generate business for itself.
In general, Walmart dominates grocery buying across all income groups. Amazon’s strength lies in online discretionary retail, not groceries. Dual subscribers and Prime-only members continue turning to Amazon for nonessential, higher-ticket items, reinforcing the divide.
These are just some of the findings detailed in “Winning Both Carts: Millennials Drive Surge in Having Both Amazon Prime & Walmart+,” a PYMNTS Intelligence exclusive report. This edition examines how subscription trends reshape consumer shopping habits, drawing insights from a survey of 2,007 U.S. consumers conducted between Feb. 10, 2025, and Feb. 28, 2025.
Dual Subscriptions Surge
Dual subscriptions have doubled since 2021 as consumers seek to maximize perks.
The number of consumers holding dual subscriptions to Amazon Prime and Walmart+ spiked between 2021 and early 2025. Just 12% of consumers subscribed to both services in 2021, a peak pandemic year, but twice as many did so by February 2025. The doubling up highlights a shift by many consumers to multi-platform loyalty over exclusivity.
Total Walmart+ subscriptions, held either on their own or in tandem with other services, climbed to nearly 1 in 3 (28%) of all consumers in February 2025 from 15% in 2021. Yet this growth came largely from existing Amazon Prime subscribers adding Walmart+, rather than from previously-unsubscribed consumers. Meanwhile, the share of Walmart+-only subscribers remained stable or declined slightly. Perhaps that signals that Walmart isn’t making inroads with its core block-and-tackle base. Or maybe that Amazon Prime shoppers aren’t always happy with the prices they see on Amazon. Either way, the trend points to Walmart+’s role as complement to—rather than substitute for—Amazon Prime.
This development also reflects evolving consumer priorities. Shoppers seek to maximize value by layering benefits from these two services. For example, a dual subscriber may take advantage of fast shipping from either retailer, or enjoy Walmart’s fuel discounts—after all, there are no Amazon gas stations—while using Amazon’s streaming services. Instead of picking one retailer over the other, consumers increasingly choose the best of both for their specific needs.
At the same time, Walmart+ is winning in some categories at the expense of Amazon Prime. The share of consumers subscribing exclusively to Amazon Prime shrank to 43% in February 2025 from roughly 49% in 2021. At the same time, there was a modest decrease in consumers holding no subscription. The two drops suggest that Walmart+ is succeeding in attracting existing Amazon subscribers, rather than drawing non-subscribers into its fold.
Millennials and Retail Perks of Subscriptions
Millennial consumers lead subscription adoption while other generations trail.
Millennials lead all generations in signing up for subscriptions. Eight in 10 have at least one membership, and 37% subscribe to both Amazon Prime and Walmart+. Just 20% have neither.
Generation Z is relatively less keen on the spending option. About four in 10 have Prime exclusively, and 27% subscribe to both, but nearly three in 10 have neither. Baby boomers and seniors show even lower dual participation, with 42% having neither subscription. These patterns suggest that younger and older consumers may be more cautious with recurring costs or less sold on the retail subscription model.
But financial standing also plays a role in subscription choices. Consumers living paycheck to paycheck are more likely to subscribe to Walmart+: One in three do. Almost half (48%) of consumers who are not living paycheck to paycheck have Prime, and 18% hold both memberships. Still, just over one in four households living paycheck to paycheck while struggling to pay bills maintain dual subscriptions, highlighting the perceived value of combined benefits when budgets are tight.
Consumers earning less than $50,000 and those experiencing financial difficulties are the highest subscribers to Walmart+-only (6.5% and 6.1%, respectively), highlighting the retailer’s appeal among cost-conscious groups. But nearly one-third (32%) of consumers earning $50,000 or less subscribe only to Prime, five times as many as to Walmart+. Similarly, more than one in three of those living paycheck to paycheck while struggling to pay bills subscribe only to Prime. By contrast, households with $100,000 or more in annual income maintain the highest share of Prime-only subscriptions: 49%. Only 1.9% of these households subscribe to Walmart+.
Even consumers under financial strain maintain their memberships, viewing them less as luxuries and more as essential tools for savings and convenience. The post-pandemic era of sticky inflation may have contributed to dual subscribers seeking the best prices and services for their needs and wants.
Walmart Wins Crossover Subscription Battle
Walmart dominates grocery, while Amazon remains a marginal competitor.
Nearly three in 10 of all U.S. consumers reported making their most recent grocery purchases at Walmart. By contrast, just 1.3% said the same of Amazon. Even among Prime members, grocery buying is limited: only 0.7% made their last grocery trip through Amazon. No Walmart+-only members bought groceries from Amazon, while barely one-quarter of Prime-only members made grocery purchases at Walmart. This one-sided crossover suggests that most consumers view Walmart as the default for food and beverages.
This pattern of shopping Amazon for retail items, from clothing to housewares, and Walmart for food items holds across income levels. High-income consumers—those earning more than $100,000—used Amazon for groceries just 1.9% of the time, mostly buying beverages and alcoholic drinks, fresh meat or vegetables and prepared foods, compared to 29% who turned to Walmart for food and beverages. The gap is wider among consumers earning under $50,000: 0.7% versus 30%. Walmart’s value positioning and physical presence help to drive consistent traffic across economic segments.
Generational trends reinforce the differences between where subscribers spend their non-grocery dollars and where they pick up food and beverages. For example, millennials lead in subscriptions and retail spend. Among this group of dual subscribers, 37% turned to Walmart for groceries. Only 2.5% used Amazon. Gen Z shoppers showed similar preferences, with nearly 28% shopping at Walmart for groceries and less than 1% using Amazon.
Overall, consumers who subscribe to both retailers favor Walmart for food: 44% of dual subscribers last shopped there for groceries. Just 4.1% did so through Amazon.
Grocery lists look similar across demographics and subscriptions. What changes is where consumers buy those groceries. Amazon’s presence in food remains niche, even among its own members. However, Walmart has secured its place as the go-to grocer, especially among cost-conscious shoppers and those outside either subscription ecosystem.
Dual Subscriptions Increase Average Retail Spend
Subscribers to both Amazon Prime and Walmart+ spend the most year-round.
An interesting twist in Walmart’s grocery dominance story is that dual subscribers consistently outspend other consumers on retail purchases at Amazon. Over the observed period, they spent an average of $110 per transaction, well above the $78 spent by Prime-only members and the $75 spent by Walmart+-only members. By contrast, those without either subscription consistently spent the least, averaging $58 per transaction.
These spending patterns persist year-round but spike during key retail seasons. For example, dual subscribers’ spending surges during March, September and December, aligning with spring sales, back-to-school shopping and the holiday season. These spikes suggest higher responsiveness to promotional cycles across the calendar.
Millennials, as the largest segment holding both subscriptions, drive much of this spending—making them a critical audience for retailers aiming to maximize engagement. The gap underscores the influence of retail memberships on purchasing behavior—and highlights the strategic value of dual subscribers as a core consumer segment.
Most subscribers still treat Amazon as the destination for online retail—and Walmart as the default for groceries. For those with dual subscriptions, mitigating consumer price increases has pushed them into the arms of both retail giants.
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Methodology
“Winning Both Carts: Millennials Drive Surge in Having Amazon Prime and Walmart+ Subscriptions” is based on a survey of 2,007 U.S. consumers conducted between Feb. 10, 2025, and Feb. 28, 2025. The study explores how subscription services influence consumer purchasing behavior across retail and grocery categories, focusing on crossover shopping patterns and payment preferences. The sample was census-balanced to reflect the U.S. population by age, gender, income and region. Respondents provided self-reported data on their most recent purchases, subscription status and financial lifestyle. The analysis distinguishes between consumers with only one subscription, both, or neither to offer a segmented view into how these memberships shape where and how people shop.
