Strategic Implications of Online Retail Platforms’ Membership-Based Free Shipping Programs
Published Online:11 Jul 2023https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2022.0208
References
- (2022) Visualizing Amazon’s rising shipping costs. Accessed June 23, 2023, https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-amazons-rising-shipping-costs/.Google Scholar
- (2016) The effect of loyalty program fees on program perceptions and engagement. J. Bus. Res. 69(2):964–973.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2008) Optimal pricing of seasonal products in the presence of forward-looking consumers. Manufacturing Service Oper. Management 10(3):339–359.Link, Google Scholar
- (2005) Beyond the hype of frictionless markets: Evidence of heterogeneity in price rigidity on the internet. J. Management Inform. Systems 22(2):57–89.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2018) What a waste: Online retail’s big packaging problem. Accessed June 23, 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonbird1/2018/07/29/what-a-waste-online-retails-big-packaging-problem/#714fa278371d.Google Scholar
- (2016) Amazon Prime: Still a good deal at $99? Accessed June 23, 2023, https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-prime-still-a-good-deal-at-99/.Google Scholar
- (2015) Is free shipping killing Amazon’s profit? Accessed June 23, 2023, http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-free-shipping-killing-amazons-profit-2015-07-14.Google Scholar
- (2016) How Amazon loses on Prime and still wins. Accessed June 23, 2023, https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601889/how-amazon-loses-on-prime-and-still-wins/.Google Scholar
- (2009) Purchasing, pricing, and quick response in the presence of strategic consumers. Management Sci. 55(3):497–511.Link, Google Scholar
- (2019) Amazon pushes fast shipping but avoids responsibility for the human cost. New York Times (September 5), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/us/amazon-delivery-drivers-accidents.html.Google Scholar
- (1994) Segmentation, differentiation, and flexible pricing: Experiences with information technology and segment-tailored strategies. J. Management Inform. Systems 11(2):9–36.Crossref, Google Scholar
- Consumer Reports (2016) Amazon Prime membership is worth the cost. Accessed June 23, 2023, http://www.consumerreports.org/holiday-shopping/amazon-prime-membership-is-worth-the-cost/.Google Scholar
- (2019) Is Amazon violating U.S. antitrust laws? This law student thinks he has evidence. Accessed June 23, 2023, https://inthesetimes.com/article/21850/is-amazon-using-predatory-pricing-in-violation-of-antitrust-laws-monopoly.Google Scholar
- (2022) Amazon Prime user and revenue statistics. Accessed June 23, 2023, https://backlinko.com/amazon-prime-users.Google Scholar
- (2002) The logistics behind the enter click. Klose A, Speranza MG, Van Wassenhove LN, eds. Quantitative Approaches to Distribution Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, vol. 519 (Springer, Berlin), 131–148.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (1997) Do customer loyalty programs really work? MIT Sloan Management Rev. 38(4):71.Google Scholar
- (2021) Show me the money: The economic impact of membership-based free shipping programs on e-tailers. Inform. Systems Res. 32(4):1115–1127.Link, Google Scholar
- Farrell J (1990) Competition with lock-in. de Fontenay, Shugard, Sibley, eds. Telecommunications Demand Modeling: An Integrated View (North-Holland, Netherlands), 353–362.Google Scholar
- GeekWire (2014) Lawsuit alleges Amazon Prime third-party prices are inflated to cover shipping. Accessed June 23, 2023, http://www.geekwire.com/2014/lawsuit-alleges-amazon-prime-third-party-prices-inflated-cover-shipping/.Google Scholar
- (2020) Amazon’s big holiday shopping advantage: An in-house shipping network swollen by pandemic-fueled growth. Washington Post (November 27), https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/11/27/amazon-shipping-competitive-threat/.Google Scholar
- (2010) Revenue management with strategic customers: Last-minute selling and opaque selling. Management Sci. 56(3):430–448.Link, Google Scholar
- (2011) Firm strategies in the “mid tail” of platform-based retailing. Marketing Sci. 30(5):757–775.Link, Google Scholar
- (1987) Markets with consumer switching costs. Quart. J. Econom. 102(2):375–394.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2010) Buy now and match later: Impact of posterior price matching on profit with strategic consumers. Manufacturing Service Oper. Management 12(1):33–55.Link, Google Scholar
- (2016) How Prime makes Amazon profitable. Accessed June 23, 2023, https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/25/how-prime-makes-amazon-profitable.aspx.Google Scholar
- (2004) The influence of loyalty programs and short-term promotions on customer retention. J. Marketing Res. 41(3):281–292.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2014) Analysis of product rollover strategies in the presence of strategic customers. Management Sci. 60(4):1033–1056.Link, Google Scholar
- (2008) Strategic capacity rationing to induce early purchases. Management Sci. 54(6):1115–1131.Link, Google Scholar
- (2002) Making the right e-fulfillment decision. Prod. Inventory Management J. 43(1/2):50–55.Google Scholar
- (2022) Walmart to bring in-home delivery to 30M US households this year. Accessed June 23, 2023, https://www.grocerydive.com/news/walmart-to-bring-in-home-delivery-to-30m-us-households-this-year/616687/.Google Scholar
- (2018) The hidden environmental cost of Amazon Prime’s free, fast shipping. Accessed June 23, 2023, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nicolenguyen/environmental-impact-of-amazon-prime.Google Scholar
- (2016) Amazon Prime membership: Is it worth the $99 annual fee? Accessed June 23, 2023, https://www.thestreet.com/story/13215530/1/amazon-prime-membership-is-it-worth-the-99-annual-fee.html.Google Scholar
- (2021) Walmart+ is gaining momentum, hits 32 million members, Deutsche Bank estimates. Accessed June 23, 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/14/walmart-hits-32-million-members-deutsche-bank-estimates.html.Google Scholar
- (2004) A multi-channel model of separating equilibrium in the face of the digital divide. J. Management Inform. Systems 21(2):161–179.Google Scholar
- (2015) Shipping is the ‘Achilles heel’ of online retailers. Accessed June 23, 2023, http://www.information-age.com/shipping-achilles-heel-online-retailers-123458893/.Google Scholar
- (2015) Amazon surprise! Prime members help deliver a profit. Accessed June 23, 2023, https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-pulls-off-surprise-profit-thanks-to-prime/.Google Scholar
- (2016) Your impulse buys are costing Amazon a fortune. Accessed June 23, 2023, https://www.cnet.com/news/your-impulse-buys-are-costing-amazon-a-fortune/.Google Scholar
- (1997) Loyalty programs and their impact on repeat-purchase loyalty patterns. Internat. J. Res. Marketing 14(5):473–486.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2015) Amazon Prime: Why unlimited shipping is too good to be true. Accessed June 23, 2023, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/amazon-prime-why-unlimited-shipping-is-too-good-to-be-true-a6715036.html.Google Scholar
- (2019) Amazon’s ‘climate pledge’ commits to net zero carbon emissions by 2040 and 100% renewables by 2030. Accessed June 23, 2023, https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/19/amazons-climate-pledge-commits-to-net-zero-carbon-emissions-by-2040-and-100-renewables-by-2030/.Google Scholar
- (2015) Amazon reports a profit, citing Prime as the key. New York Times (January 30), https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/30/technology/amazon-earnings-profit-prime.html?_r=0.Google Scholar
- (2007) Intertemporal pricing with strategic customer behavior. Management Sci. 53(5):726–741.Link, Google Scholar
- (2008) Strategic customer behavior, commitment, and supply chain performance. Management Sci. 54(10):1759–1773.Link, Google Scholar
- (2011) Amazon Prime loses $11 annually per member … and it’s a huge success. Accessed June 23, 2023, https://business.time.com/2011/11/14/amazon-prime-loses-11-annually-per-member-and-its-a-huge-success/.Google Scholar
- (2003) Customer loyalty and customer loyalty programs. J. Consumer Marketing 20(4):294–316.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2017) Membership free shipping programs: Effect on competition and optimality of member fees. Proc. 50th Hawaii Internat. Conf. System Sci. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/items/9a3f8960-0680-4925-8a45-076bef89d527.Google Scholar
- (2003) Effects of loyalty programs on value perception, program loyalty, and brand loyalty. J. Acad. Marketing Sci. 31(3):229–240.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2022) Walmart marketplace’s push to grow third-party seller base. Accessed June 23, 2023, https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2022/09/13/in-focus-walmart-marketplaces-push-to-grow-third-party-seller-base/.Google Scholar

