Streaming Services Add Major Value to Retail Bundles Like Amazon Prime, Walmart+; What Other Streamers Could Partner with Retailers?
Retail membership bundles are a fairly new concept, but they will likely begin to spread in the coming years as more major retailers see their value. Adding a monthly subscription membership with benefits for subscribers is a good way for retail chains to ensure steady revenue streams from customers, even when they’re not actively shopping.
Some retailers are already availing themselves of the boosted profits retail membership bundles provide. Amazon has done so for years with its Prime membership, and Walmart recently got into the game with Walmart+. One of the biggest benefits that customers of these bundles enjoy is free access to a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service; Prime customers get Prime Video, while Walmart+ users enjoy complimentary subscriptions to ad-supported Paramount+.
A new survey from the video market research firm Aluma Insights shows that adding streaming services into retail membership bundles is a wise idea from the retailer’s perspective. Walmart+ customers rated access to Paramount+ as the third most-important benefit of their subscription, with 44% saying it was “very” important. Prime users were even more enthusiastic about Prime Video; 59% said it was “very” important to have, making it second on the list of prized features among Prime customers behind free shipping.
“Both Amazon and Walmart are leaning into streaming video services to boost the value of membership, and for good reason,” Aluma senior analyst Douglas Montgomery said. “Prime Video benefits from being baked into by far the largest retail membership bundle, which currently serves over 70 million U.S. SVOD households, eight times the reach of Walmart+. While Paramount+ is a good first step for Walmart’s membership bundle, it needs to be followed up with similar additions. Unlike Amazon, Walmart doesn’t offer its own SVOD service, so competitive providers may be more comfortable bundling with it.”
The success of these streaming/retail bundles could convince other streaming services that they too should find a retailer to partner with. The streaming market is nearly completely saturated in the United States, and streamers should be doing whatever they can to find new ways to add customers in a market that is nearing maturity.
So which streamers could make the leap next? Walmart was reportedly in communication with Comcast about possibly adding Peacock to its Walmart+ bundle before settling on Paramount+, making that service an obvious candidate for a similar retail deal. Best Buy has a paid membership program with a litany of benefits, but no streaming partners as of yet.
Target’s free loyalty program Target Circle currently provides its customers with a six-month free trial of Apple TV+. As a working relationship between the two is already established, it could be quite simple for Target to make an Apple TV+ subscription part of a paid membership bundle if it ever decided to set up such a program.
Disney is another company that was interested in the Walmart+ deal, and it already offers access to Disney+,Hulu, and ESPN+ for a discount in the Disney Bundle. If a retailer like Costco came to The House of Mouse with an offer it couldn’t refuse, it would be quite natural to see Disney+ emerge as a streaming partner in that retailer’s membership bundle.
As the technology for shoppable television, ad-targeting, etc. improves, the range of options available to retailers expands, including ad partnerships, product placements, and branded offerings to provide new revenue and exposure for its partners. In short, the bundling of streaming services with retail membership packages is good for both streamers and retailers, and it’s another way for streaming providers to increase profits in a crowded marketplace.