Most U.S. Households Subscribe to a Retail Membership Program

New research from data and tech company Numerator finds that nearly two-thirds of U.S. households (62%) subscribe to at least one retail membership program. Numerator, which recently launched its Retail Membership Tracker, compared Amazon Prime, Walmart and Target’s Shipt Everyday services, analyzing membership numbers, customer loyalty data and which factors (e.g., shipping speed) most influence membership choices.

Four in five households that count themselves as retail subscribers subscribe to just one membership program, while 13.8% subscribe to two programs; 3.7% subscribe to three; and 2.5% subscribe to four or more programs. 

These multiprogram subscribers are more likely to be Black or Hispanic/Latino, from larger households, value-driven and buy on impulse, Numerator said. 

Of the retail memberships studied, Amazon Prime is the most popular choice, with 53.6% of U.S. households as subscribers. While 8.1% of households subscribe to Walmart , Numerator said this service has gained rapid adoption since its late 2020 launch. Last month, Walmart aimed to entice shoppers to its membership program and provide relief at the pump by offering additional discounts on gas. Only 1.3% of households subscribe to Shipt Everyday, which Numerator noted is available in limited markets. 

Despite its limited availability, Shipt Everyday outperformed its baseline metrics by 2x, capturing 10.1% of its subscribers’ share vs. 4.3% of their total shoppers’ share, Numerator found. Meanwhile, Walmart captured the highest purchase frequency, buy rate and share of wallet from subscribers, capturing 18.5% of its subscribers’ share vs. 14.6% of their total shoppers’ share. 

Amazon, by contrast, had the highest loyalty rates. Nearly 4 in 5 (78%) of Amazon Prime members do not subscribe to other retail membership programs, compared with the 28% who only subscribe to Target’s Shipt Everyday and the 24% who only use Walmart . 

Nearly three in four Walmart subscribers (73%)  also have Amazon Prime, while 53% of Target’s Shipt Everyday members also have Prime, Numerator found. 

Amazon Prime also has higher satisfaction levels, as well as intent to renew. Numerator found that 74% of Amazon Prime members indicate high satisfaction levels vs. 55% of Shipt Everyday members and 46% of Walmart members. Additionally, 80% of Amazon Prime members intend to renew their memberships, while 49% of Shipt Everyday members and 48% of Walmart members plan to renew. 

“Changes in consumer behavior are accelerating,” Numerator CEO Eric Belcher said in a news release. “Forward-looking retailers are anticipating and tracking those changes. With the only single-source view of consumer behavior across all channels, Numerator helps retailers identify and respond to emerging trends to drive more loyalty and long-term growth.”

Based in Chicago, Numerator gathers first-party data from more than 1 million U.S. households with advanced technology.