How Amazon Is Appealing to the Younger Generation

October 11, 2017 by Chris Lange

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has been on a tear this year, expanding across multiple industries and putting many companies on notice. But now Amazon is taking a slightly different tack and is expanding across demographics. The e-commerce giant is now looking to appeal to a younger crowd through a few initiatives.

First, Amazon is offering its Prime membership to college students for a discount. This deal applies to any student enrolled at a four-year or two-year college in the United States. The price is chopped down to $5.49 per month, or $49 for a full year.

At the same time, Amazon has 29 pickup locations nationwide that provide shoppers with packing and shipping services. Prime members can take advantage of same-day pickup at these locations. Most of these locations are located near major cities, while there are some located near smaller college towns.

Apart from the college crowd, Amazon is appealing to younger teenagers between the ages of 13 to 17. Amazon has now introduced a way for these teenagers to login, shop and stream independently on the Amazon App while still keeping their parents informed.

Parents are able to approve all orders or set preapproved spending limits per order, which would give teenage users a customized level of autonomy that can change as they grow.

Michael Carr, Vice President, Amazon Households, commented:

As a parent of a teen, I know how they crave independence, but at the same time that has to be balanced with the convenience and trust that parents need. We’ve listened to families and have built a great experience for both teens and parents. For teens who have a parent with a Prime membership, they can also access Prime benefits at no additional cost, including fast, free shipping, Prime Video and gaming benefits with Twitch Prime.

Shares of Amazon were last seen at $990.20, with a consensus analyst price target of $1,153.60 and a 52-week range of $710.10 to $1,083.31.

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