Amazon is set to discontinue its program that lets Prime members share delivery perks with people outside their households, effective October 1st. This information can be found on the company’s website.
The Invitee program was launched back in 2009, and an Amazon representative confirmed its end, indicating a shift in focus towards advertising within the Amazon Family program.
Benefits of the program included speedy and free delivery on eligible items, invitations to exclusive Prime events and offers, and access to third-party services like Prime Video and Grubhub.
While Amazon hasn’t revealed specific membership figures in their recent earnings calls, they did refer to the last Prime Day sale as “the biggest Prime Day shopping event ever.” I mean, that’s quite a statement, right?
They mentioned that this year’s Prime Day surpassed the previous four-day shopping period, featuring record sales across the board during the two-day promotion.
Moreover, it was noted that independent sellers—those small and medium-sized businesses—have also noted unprecedented sales during this event.
Since 2022, the annual fee for Amazon Prime memberships in the U.S. is now $139, a bump from the earlier price of approximately $119.
Interestingly, JP Morgan analyst Doug Ammus has suggested in a research note that there’s potential for Amazon to raise the price of its Prime membership again in 2026.
