Amazon Gets Into Subscription Biz With Subscribe With Amazon

Ecommerce giant Amazon expanded its subscription business after an announcement on Monday (April 24) detailed the launch of Subscribe With Amazon, a marketplace to subscribe to and manage digital subscriptions.

On its website, Amazon said the subscriptions will be from a slew of service providers, including streaming services, meal planning services and online exercise classes, among other things.

According to TechCrunch, Amazon has been working on the new service since last year and has had it live on its website for some time now. It had not been promoted on a wide scale until Monday.

In a press release, Amazon said its self-service subscriptions marketplace allows digital subscription providers to reach millions of Amazon customers. Subscribe with Amazon is a new way for subscription businesses to sell on Amazon, offering them targeted customer exposure through popular discovery features such as search and recommendations, while also providing customers with a simple way to purchase and manage their subscriptions.

Selling on Subscribe with Amazon is easy with self-service enrollment. The program allows subscription providers the ability to offer customers flexible pricing, including introductory, monthly and annual pricing options, as well as the opportunity to explore offering Prime exclusive deals. Digital subscriptions currently available span a variety of areas, including streaming content, news/magazines, learning and lifestyle.

“Over the years, Amazon has gained extensive experience in the memberships and subscriptions space, innovating across programs like Prime and Kindle Unlimited,” said Lovina McMurchy, general manager of Subscribe with Amazon in the press release. “Today we’re excited to extend our selection by offering subscription businesses a self-service way to make their subscriptions available to millions of Amazon customers.”

Through its self-service tools, each subscription will have its own detail page, and providers can manage pricing and take advantage of APIs to receive orders and updates from Amazon. Subscribe with Amazon also offers the ability to propose Prime member exclusive discounts. Additionally, when customers purchase their subscription on Amazon.com, they can access it on any iOS, Android or Amazon Fire device supported by the subscription provider.