Amazon has started a new programme that enables merchants to ship goods directly to customers under a two-day Prime membership service.
Earlier, merchants were required to send their goods to Amazon’s warehouses, before shipping out to Prime members.
The company is now listing items in Prime that ship directly from independent merchants’ warehouses to customers.
Currently, Prime members pay $99 per year to receive free two-day shipping on around 20 million items on Amazon’s website.
The addition of further merchants and items to Prime shipping may attract new members into the service.
In early 2014, Amazon crossed 20 million Prime subscribers and saw a 53% increase in subscriptions for the full year.
According to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, Amazon has around 41 million Prime members.
Last year, Amazon launched a Prime Pantry service to deliver customers 45lbs of selected items at their doorstep for $5.99.
