A report by Morgan Stanley (New York) reveals that roughly 40 percent of Amazon.com (Seattle) users are Prime members. The survey was conducted in the third quarter and showed that the company hasn’t made any progress in acquiring new members to its service since customers were surveyed in the same quarter last year, according to the New York Post.
A year without growth on its membership suggests that the service has hit a plateau with its target markets.
According to Morgan Stanley, the company has struggled to acquire members over the age of 55, 40 percent of whom, according to AARP, do not use Prime.
Another market Amazon has begun targeting is low-income consumers, though experts claim that will be a tough sell at its current $99 yearly membership fee. Amazon previously offered a 27 percent discount to low-income users for a period of time, but according to the company, that was only a temporary measure.