The news comes after Amazon.com ended free international shipping to Singapore

Amazon has ceased offering free international shipping to Singapore customers with orders US$125 and over. But to compensate, the e-commerce giant has launched its Amazon Prime membership in the country — the first in Southeast Asia.

At S$8.99 (US$6.70) per month, Amazon Prime members in Singapore will enjoy free international deliveries for orders over S$60 (US$44.50). And for local Prime Now deliveries, all orders above S$40 (US$30) will include free shipping.

To reflect this update, customers will now see two tabs in their Prime Now app, one for local items and one for international items.

Amazon Prime membership will also come packed with Amazon Prime Video, which features popular exclusives such as The Man In the High Castle and The Grand Tour.

In addition, gaming video portal Twitch Prime will offer free channel subscriptions, ad-free viewing and other exclusives, such as characters and skins, will also be included.

Amazon Prime customers can experience a 30-day free trial before committing to a subscription. They will also be offered an introductory price of S$2.99 (US$2.20) after the trial period ends.

Amazon did not say when the usual subscription price will come into effect.

Mixed reception

While the idea of getting free international delivery with a lower order threshold — about US$80 less — sounds exciting, don’t go loading items on your carts on Amazon.com.

Amazon Prime and the main Amazon.com marketplace are separate entities, meaning, you can’t receive free international shipping if you make purchases on the main marketplace.

An Amazon Prime Now customer representative whom e27 spoke to confirmed this. He said that the free international shipping option on the main marketplace was removed to make way for the Prime membership.

He added that in a survey conducted by Amazon, they found that many Singapore customers ordered around S$60 (US$44.50) worth of goods, hence the threshold.

Oh, and in case you forgot, if you make purchases over S$400 (US$300), an import tax of 7 per cent still applies.

The Singapore version of Prime also lacks some benefits enjoyed by US subscribers — mainly, its music, ebook and photo storage services.

Reception among local online denizens has been mixed. Some complained about the paltry selection of products, the lack of a desktop site and dedicated app for Prime Video; others welcomed the free shipping, and shows available on Prime Video (which has been available in Singapore for a year).

Also Read: What are the 5 most popular items Singaporeans have purchased from Amazon Prime Now?

The Prime Now representative was unable to comment on the sparsity of the selection but said that Amazon remain committed to providing the best products to its customers.

Singapore-based cashback platform ShopBack welcomed the entrance of Amazon Prime membership.

“The launch of Amazon Prime membership will once again raise the evergreen topic on customer retention and loyalty not just for e-commerce companies, but also the brick-and-mortar retail stores,” Vincent Wong, Country Head of ShopBack Singapore told e27.

“Amazon is also bringing in their high standards in customer service, inventory assortments and user experience to the scene. That’ll be beneficial for the entire ecosystem and definitely for the consumers at large.”

Southeast Asian e-commerce giant Lazada, Amazon’s chief rival in the region offers a similar service to Prime called LiveUp, but instead of being an in-house offering, it involves a partnership with Netflix, Uber and RedMart. At S$2.40 (US$1.80) per month, LiveUp is manyfold cheaper than Prime’s rates.

In a statement to e27, Lazada appeared defiant and unfazed by Amazon’s announcement, and proclaimed their offerings to be superior.

“We don’t believe in forced membership. Lazada is an open marketplace offering shoppers free delivery, across 800,000 local products and 40 million cross-border items. Loyalty programs should offer incremental benefits,” said Alexis Lanternier, Chief Executive Officer, Lazada Singapore.

“We believe LiveUp is by far the best loyalty program for the Singapore shopper.
It focuses on offering members incremental and immediate benefits (5 per cent rebate on every Lazada order and the fastest, free delivery option),” he added.

“Beyond being a loyalty program, LiveUp is a Lifestyle Membership program, that offers shoppers in Singapore benefits across the top digital services (RedMart, Netflix, Uber, Taobao Collection and many more to come), including and not limited to Lazada,” said Lanternier.

—

Image Credit: Amazon Prime

The post Amazon Prime membership is in Singapore; but Lazada is unfazed and reception is mixed appeared first on e27.