SEATTLE – Amazon.com is offering a discounted membership in its Prime loyalty program to some recipients of government assistance.
The move seems aimed at extending Amazon’s reach well beyond the upper- and middle-class customers that underpin its business – right as the e-commerce giant intensifies its battle against a reinvigorated Wal-Mart.
Shoppers who have an electronic benefits transfer card are now eligible for a $5.99 monthly membership. That’s down from the typical $10.99 monthly charge for Prime membership, and also slightly less, on a monthly basis, than the $99 annual fee.
Many government assistance programs – including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children – use an electronic benefits transfer card to distribute funds.
Amazon said it plans to figure out how people who qualify for government assistance programs that don’t use an electronic benefits transfer card can also qualify for the Prime discount.