Caitríona Redmond: Is Irish Amazon Prime worth it?
Amazon said that customers in Ireland can shop a wide selection of over 200 million products with prices in euro.
We all woke up on Tuesday morning rubbing our eyes in disbelief at the news, not that a certain individual was a guest of the White House the previous day, but that Amazon had finally opened their Irish website.
It’s been a long time coming from the brand that promises everything from A-to-Z is available in their online stores. This is mirrored in their logo; the arrow starts underneath the A and finishes at the Z of the brand name which suggests a friendly smile.
You may be familiar with the vans and trucks trundling around our towns and villages for several years now. You might have been one of the tens of thousands of customers who used Parcel Motel to order from Amazon, the demise of the former coincided with Brexit, a point at which the shipping and taxes from the UK started to be added at the Amazon checkout.
According to a recent report from Wolfgang Digital & Amárach Research, 78% of Irish adults say they have ordered from Amazon, and this increases to over 91% in the 35-44 year age range.
That same report estimates that Amazon accounts for approximately 12% of all online revenues in Ireland. Small wonder, therefore, that Amazon has decided to capitalise on this captive audience by launching a country-specific website, helped in no small part by building massive data, distribution, and fulfilment centres in Ireland.
Consumers in Ireland have been using either UK-based or EU-based Amazon services and paying for delivery. Mainly the UK-based though as it offers a website in English and the Amazon Prime subscription gives access to a wide range of benefits. Allowing for conversion that Prime service costs Irish subscribers €11 per month approximately but now with the Irish website, that cost drops to €6.99 per month or a saving of €48 per year.
New Irish customers will benefit from that annual €48 saving, exclusive deals, free deliveries, Prime Video, partner offers, prime gaming including a free Twitch subscription, and exclusive partner offers. Not forgetting the new “Brands of Ireland” showcase page which they say will help Irish customers find their favourite brands and help local businesses to thrive.
Should customers of the UK Prime service move to the new Irish website? The Irish Prime service is a watered-down version of what they’ve already been benefitting from. Family sharing is a default for UK Prime, whereas it’s not an option for dot.ie customers, so now the whole family gets the same alerts and purchase notifications it’s more difficult to hide surprises.
It's fair to say that the cheaper price reflects the “poor relation” position of the new Irish site. Many customers wouldn’t even know what Twitch is, let alone use it unless they are gaming afficionados. This benefit may not be much of an attraction to Irish consumers. As a parent to teen boys, I certainly know what it is and recommend that it is only watched with earplugs. Trust me, there’s only so much background shouting this writer can take!
The most crucial differences relate to online books, magazines and audio.
Audible customers will continue to need a separate standalone £ (Sterling) subscription to access their audiobooks so there is no change there.
If you already have a Kindle and use Amazon.co.uk to buy eBooks switching to the new Irish website will be a pain. Customers who switch from the UK to Prime Ireland will lose access to Prime reading which includes access to a bank of over 3,000 titles that are free to read, although obviously not all at once.
Furthermore, there are no eBooks available from the new Irish website. This means that those of us who have an Amazon Kindle or eReader will have to separately log back into the UK website to buy eBooks.
Every time you want to buy a new eBook; you’ll have to alter country to make the purchase. That bank of free books has been a big draw for customers and for good reason, eBooks can be expensive at times, particularly new releases.
For the uninitiated Amazon Kids+ has exclusive branded content from Disney, Marvel, and Lego and a separate kid-safe user interface along with parental controls. The new Irish website doesn’t offer Amazon Kids+ subscriptions, customers must use a UK based account for this specialist offering.
That said, Amazon Music is a big bonus for the Irish website. To date, Irish customers have struggled to gain access to this benefit even with a UK membership. If you have an Alexa smart device, you certainly knew this because the work-around has been to have a separate Spotify subscription up until now.
Customers could potentially save money with this Music included in their new Irish subscription.
Overall, I would say that if you use Amazon but either don’t have an existing Prime account or do have an account and don’t use the benefits regularly then switching to the Irish side is a good choice. If you are used to enjoying the additional add-ons from the UK based Prime account, you will likely be disappointed by the new website and stay where you are for now.
You can access eBooks and audiobooks via Libraries Ireland for free using the Borrowbox app. Sign up for your free Irish library card number on their website. This opens a whole new world of over 12 million books, movies, and more in the database.
Like a conventional library, you reserve your title of choice if it’s already out on loan and receive a generous lending limit. Visit www.librariesireland.ie to register with your current card or for a new number if you don’t already have one. The app works on mobile phone, tablet, and Kindle Fire.
This announcement could be your reminder to break up with Amazon and that’s okay. Remember that Irish bricks and mortar stores are the lifeblood of our communities.
The more money spent in our stores on Irish products the better. Before you turn to the web to look for a product you need, check to see if you have a local store instead.
