Barnes and Noble has totally revised their membership plan and are challenging Amazon Prime. The largest bookseller in the United States is changing up their loyalty programs to lock in steady business from people who buy books or want to purchase a Nook e-Reader. The $40-per-year membership service that will offer customers discounts, free shipping and additional perks.
The new premium subscription service will offer members a 10 percent discount, free shipping with no minimum threshold to meet, tote bags and larger drink size upgrades at the bookstore’s cafes. The company will also offer a free, lower-tier membership program for customers to earn a virtual stamp for every $10 they spend. They will receive $5 in store credit once they gather 10 stamps.
The new membership program replaces an old one that cost $25 per year and gave discounts for purchases inside physical stores only. The new program will include online purchases, according to the CEO.
Daunt said he expects, along with new customers, that at least 75 percent of the 5.5 million people who were members of the old program will likely switch to the new one.
Prime offers more value than Barnes and Noble, such as access to free Kindle books, Prime Video, access to Prime music and fast shipping on products. However, Prime is basically an online shopping service, where you either get digital access to things or physical items ordered from their website. Barnes and Noble is promoting a shopping service in physical bookstores to get the most value, they currently operate over 600 locations in the US.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor of Amazon News Feed. A website devoted to the latest Amazon News. You will find a cohesive editorial direction. Michael covers the latest occurrences in AWS, Kindle, Fire Tablets, Fire TV, audiobooks, ebooks and company news.