Globally, Prime has over 200 million members, of which India is a key geography. During his annual visit to India, Ghani spoke to Forbes India about innovation, investing in speed and exploring newer segments for Prime
Amazon launched its Prime programme in the United States with the idea to remove a key frustration of online shopping—shipping. Back in 2005, it was unreliable, slow and expensive. The team’s idea was simple: Deliver the million items sold in the country reliably at the customer’s doorstep in two days. At the time, it was groundbreaking. “Everybody thought we were crazy, and it was going to bankrupt the company,” says Jamil Ghani, head, Amazon Prime. But the bedrock of the Prime programme world over, even today, remains: Making the customers’ lives easier.
Over time, the Prime proposition grew popular, thanks to the wide selection, competitive pricing and fast, free, unlimited shipping. Soon, they expanded to video with the launch of Prime Video; music with Prime Music; gaming with Prime Gaming and more. Currently, the team is exploring what can be done in health, grocery and many other segments.
Amazon Prime launched in India in 2016. Amazon has been investing in its operational capabilities around the globe, for 25 years. “We now have a million items that are available on the same day; and more than 4 million items that are available the next day,” adds Ghani. Globally, Prime has over 200 million members, of which India is a key geography. During his annual visit to India, Ghani spoke to Forbes India about innovation, investing in speed and exploring newer segments for Prime. Edited excerpts:
Also read: Prime Video unveils its biggest content slate with close to 70 movies and series
With our Prime Video proposition, we have pushed the boundaries of what it means to meet individual consumers in all the states, with a wide range of languages and a customer experience that celebrates those languages. We also innovated with Amazon Pay and worked with merchants for customers to get benefits and savings through their Prime membership.