Dive Brief:

• Amazon has made arrangements for its Prime members to get free shipping at certain retail websites outside of its own.

• British apparel e-retailer AllSaints, for example, will appear in Amazon’s search results but Prime members will check out by clicking through the AllSaints website. AllSaints will be charged for the search whenever an Amazon Prime member buys something.

• Meanwhile, Amazon has also announced that Prime members will be privy to unlimited photo storage at no extra charge, through a service it’s calling Prime Photos. 

Dive Insight:

Amazon Prime members famously spend much more at the retail site than non-members do, and the retail giant has clearly been working on ways to keep those members happy. The photo storage program may have been an easy one — Amazon already runs much of the cloud and likely has room to spare. 

The free shipping at other retailers is a little harder to fathom. Is Amazon attempting to morph some of its operations into more of an Alibaba-like middleman role? Or is it simply offering Prime members a perk to keep them happy?

Either way, the retailer will need to recruit enough desirable outside retailers to either impress its Prime members or make enough money on its commissions. The retailer has been working to grow this program for a while now, but most popular retailers have been hesitant so far to tie their fortunes or brands to Amazon.​