Amazon (AMZN) on Tuesday escalated its ongoing price war with Walmart (WMT), offering a discounted Prime membership rate for low-income individuals.
Customers who have a valid Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, commonly used by those enrolled in government-assistance programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, can enroll in Amazon’s Prime service, which normally costs $10.99 a month or $99 per year, for $5.99 per month with an option to cancel at any time.
“We designed this membership option for customers receiving government assistance to make our everyday selection and savings more accessible, including the many conveniences and entertainment benefits of Prime,” Amazon’s vice president of Prime, Greg Greeley, said in a statement.
The move by the e-commerce behemoth takes aim at Walmart, which has long been known for its cavernous retail spaces and ultra-low prices. After acquiring Amazon rival Jet.com last year, Walmart doubled down on its efforts to compete with the nimble online retailer as it looks to gain even more market share on the World Wide Web.
To better compete against Amazon’s Prime service, Walmart in April launched a discount on about 10,000 items for customers who make purchases online but opt to pick them up in store after unveiling no-membership required free two-day shipping for two million items. That no-strings-attached shipping strategy is one CEO Doug McMillon, at the company’s annual shareholder meeting last week, said is a compelling value offer for Walmart customers.
Taking a hit at his rival, McMillon argued that requiring customers to pay a membership fee annually is essentially asking them to pay for shipping costs up front.
“It’s not really free shipping if you have to pay for it and I think customers are figuring that out…why would you pay for a membership? A lot of customers don’t have $100 to give away,” he said.
As Amazon’s net sales grew 23% in the first quarter, Walmart’s comparable-store sales – a key metric used to measure retail performance – grew 1.4% while many other brands suffered with slowing in-store foot traffic. At the same time, the company’s e-commerce sales jumped more than 60%, though that figure compares to the same quarter last year, before its Jet.com buy.
To help reduce costs associated with increased demand for online orders, Walmart last week said it was testing out a program in which its employees could cover the so-called “last mile” of delivery Opens a New Window. on a volunteer basis. Ideally, the strategy would allow Walmart to speed up delivery times and keep prices low as it cut costs on the most expensive part of the delivery process.
But McMillon exercised caution at the shareholder meeting, saying Walmart “may take our time on this,” stressing that delivery companies FedEx and UPS would likely still have a role in the company’s overall plan, and that the associate-delivery component is “just a piece of it.”
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
I struggle with the whole ebt card thing. I am betting many cashiers do because they witness what these people buy. We have a guy come thru nearly daily who buys $20 in pop and energy drinks. I had a girl last night buy $30 in lottery tickets and then pay for her pop separately on her ebt card. ALL of these people smoke and don't seem to have any problems buying their cigarretts. And we are not talking ovcasional treats - we are talking tons of junkfood....daily.
Some states soda and such are not eligible purchases.
So, I have no problem with small discounts for seniors, vets, etc., but I do not like the idea that we are going to start charging for different services based upon income status.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
Some places, it might be more realistic to have food and cleaning items delivered.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
Some states soda and such are not eligible purchases.
So, I have no problem with small discounts for seniors, vets, etc., but I do not like the idea that we are going to start charging for different services based upon income status.
The bolded. I saw this yesterday. According to the article I was reading, there won't be a limit on what could be purchased by this level of customer but I'm not sure if that's true or not.
I've been trying to reconcile the concept of different prices for different income levels, with Amazon's logic of 'reaching another market', but I'm still very uncomfortable with it - basically this is another socialistic concept being forced upon us. If Amazon had a good competitor, I would likely not renew my membership with them because of this.
Well, we're socialist, and we don't do this (with the apparent Amazon exception). Our medical is the same co-pay, there isn't a different price for cars because of soci-economic status, and it's actually illegal in some provinces to do multi-tiered access.
I struggle with the whole ebt card thing. I am betting many cashiers do because they witness what these people buy. We have a guy come thru nearly daily who buys $20 in pop and energy drinks. I had a girl last night buy $30 in lottery tickets and then pay for her pop separately on her ebt card. ALL of these people smoke and don't seem to have any problems buying their cigarretts. And we are not talking ovcasional treats - we are talking tons of junkfood....daily.
Being that I am someone that WAS on foodstamps / government aid, I feel fully qualified to offer an opinion on the whole EBT thing. Putting the benefits on a card was a brilliant idea in simplifying the program for those that need it. However when trying to police something like this, we will always fail at it because we (as a human) continue to fail to recognize human traits. That is, while some will do whatever they can to better themselves in life [and get OFF the program] (me), there are always going to be a human type that is not looking in any way shape or form for a way to better themselves (abusers of the system). This includes how they take care of themselves, their bodies, their children, their finances, their home, and their life. It is THOSE people that there IS no way to help them become self sufficient, and there is no way to keep them from finding a way to "get paid".
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I'm wondering when those drone deliveries will start.
You know how incredibly wonderful it would have been to get children's Tylenol dropped on the carport at 1 in the morning?
Or pads?
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I was with the kids, second night in Gatlinburg, and wouldn't ya know it?
Luckily they hadn't actually gone to bed yet.
So here we go out, 11pm, for ice cream.
Yeah. They got ice cream.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I always kept female supplies tucked in and about my luggage. Every time I pack for a vacation, I come across them. It makes me chuckle. I haven't had a period since 2007 but I keep them in my luggage, you know, just in case. LOL
But I only had 1 pad and it was not going to make it through the night.
I wasn't even supposed to be having a period that week.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I always kept female supplies tucked in and about my luggage. Every time I pack for a vacation, I come across them. It makes me chuckle. I haven't had a period since 2007 but I keep them in my luggage, you know, just in case. LOL
My doing the same thing save me when DD started her period when we were on vaca at DS' place. His GF had nothing on her, can you believe that????
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
So my take is I have no issue with EBT peeps using Amazon, for some, especially the disabled, ordering on line is more than a convenience, it really must help them. For others, again I really have no issue. The issue is the discount they get, that isn't right but I get why Amazon is doing it.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
I mean for the lower price, does it only cover food, clothing, and cleaning items?
Or is it the whole shebang?
I think it could be beneficial to have tiers of the service for everyone.
You pay for the service you want.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
That Amazon is doing this it seems more capitalistic than socialistic. they are doing it to make money. One group may not join at the higher price, the other will still pay.
That Amazon is doing this it seems more capitalistic than socialistic. they are doing it to make money. One group may not join at the higher price, the other will still pay.
Amazon has said this is part of their marketing to combat Wal Mart. It is genius.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
