Why Alexa+ is a Marketing Masterstroke
- David Pullara
- 20 hours ago
- 2 min read
Amazon has announced that Alexa+ is coming to my home's devices, and the "catch" is a marketing masterstroke.
Amazon recently sent me an email with the subject line "Alexa+ is coming to your eligible Alexa-enabled devices".
The email informed me that my devices would soon be upgraded to the new Alexa "at no extra charge for Prime members".
If you're not creeped out by in-home "listening devices" (and I am not), then this is great news: Alexa+ promises some impressive capabilities, acting in many ways as the "Jarvis" you likely wished you had after watching any of the Iron Man films.
Later down in the email, the "catch" was revealed:
Alexa+ is free during Early Access. When the Early Access period ends, you will not be automatically charged and Alexa+ will remain free with your Prime membership. It will also be available to non-Prime customers for $27.99/month.
Let that sit for a moment.
Alexa+ will cost $27.99 per month if you're not a Prime member.
But it only costs $9.99/month to be a Prime Member in Canada!*
Paying for Alexa+ on its own is a ridiculous proposition... You may as well just become a Prime Member!
And of course, that's the point.
Alexa+ is yet another value offered to Prime Members, along with free shipping, free music, free photo backup, and more.
Why would Amazon do this?
Because they're very smart.
More specifically, because they know that Prime Members order more often (an average of 24x a year versus 13x for non-Prime members) and spend more ($1,400/year vs $600/year), which means adding more value to Prime to retain Prime members makes a lot of sense... and a lot of cents.
In 2016, Jeff Bezos was quoted as saying that Amazon wants Prime to be so valuable that "if you are not a Prime member, you are being irresponsible."
The team responsible for Alexa+ is certainly doing their part.
* $99/year if you pay annually. In the US, the cost is $14.99/month or $139/year. In fairness, Canadians don't have as many benefits available to them as Americans, so the discount is certainly justified.
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