Amazon Prime has grown rapidly over the past few years, especially in the United States.
The subscription service, which costs $139 a year (or $14.99 monthly), allows Amazon (AMZN) customers to unlock exclusive benefits such as free shipping and one-day delivery, Prime Day discounts, a free Grubhub+ membership, etc
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Just eight years ago, Amazon Prime only had about 99 million U.S. subscribers, now it has almost double that number, reaching 180 million U.S. subscribers in 2024, according to recent data from Yaguara.
Related: Amazon cuts major perk customers love
In Amazon's third-quarter earnings report for 2024, the online retail giant revealed that its subscription services (including income earned from Amazon Prime membership fees) generated roughly $11.2 billion for the quarter, an 11% increase compared to the same time period last year.
As Amazon Prime sees increasing membership numbers, which has helped to generate significant profits, Prime members will soon have to kiss goodbye a benefit that comes with their membership.
Amazon gives customers a vital warning
Amazon is cutting its “Prime Try Before You Buy” service, which officially launched in 2018. The service allows Prime members, who are shopping on Amazon, to select clothing, shoes, jewelry and accessories to try on before making a purchase.
Customers can select up to six items to try on for a seven-day period, and they can return items they don’t want for free.
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A new message on Amazon’s “Prime Try Before You Buy” page on its website warns customers that the service will end on Jan. 31.
In a statement to TheStreet, an Amazon spokesperson said that the company opted to make this decision after it noticed more customers were using its artificial intelligence features to determine clothing sizing.
Related: Amazon is testing a strange new way to boost delivery speeds
“Given the combination of Try Before You Buy only scaling to a limited number of items and customers increasingly using our new AI-powered features like virtual try-on, personalized size recommendations, review highlights, and improved size charts to make sure they find the right fit, we’re phasing out the Try Before You Buy option,” said the spokesperson.
Some customers took to Reddit to express disappointment that the service was hitting the chopping block.
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Many highlighted that the service was best for finding the correct shoe size.
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Amazon is increasingly trusting AI to help its customers shop
Amazon first introduced new AI-powered features in Amazon Fashion last year in January. One of the features includes sizing recommendations that are made by a deep learning-based algorithm that adapts to a customer's sizing needs.
“We know that sizes may change over time,” said Amazon in a press release on Jan. 8, 2024. “We built the algorithm so it’s continuously learning and self-adapting to changes in customers’ size needs. For example, if you bought child pants in a certain size this month, the algorithm will consider that you might need a bigger size in the coming months.”
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Other AI-powered features include size charts that are more “accurate and useful” and review highlights that help recommend sizes to customers.
Amazon has invested billions of dollars into implementing AI into its business, and its CEO, Andy Jassy, said during an earnings call on Oct. 31 that Amazon Web Services has made “rapid progress in delivering AI capabilities for customers.”
“We've recently debuted AI Shopping Guides for consumers, which simplifies product research by using generative AI to pair key factors to consider in a product category with Amazon's wide selection, making it easier for customers to find the right product for their needs,” said Jassy during the call.
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