Amazon Prime is a remarkable success but also dystopian. It has made convenience and speed the norm, habituating consumers to buy more products. Prime’s flywheel effect - where more customers lead to more data and scale which attracts more customers - has fueled Amazon’s dominance. Prime subscribers spend twice as much and Amazon’s value has multiplied 97 times since 2005. While canceling Prime may not hurt Amazon, it can benefit local businesses by gaining a new customer. However, Prime has rewired how people think about what is possible to obtain and how fast, making a Prime-free life unimaginable for many.
I cancelled Prime around that time and my Amazon spending dropped significantly. I still shop there occasionally when I need something, but I’ll usually throw the stuff I need, but not immediately in my cart and wait until I qualify for free shipping. Also, they’ve given me like 5 free month trials, which I use when I DO need something ASAP. Just gotta be sure to cancel before it auto-renews.
Less consumerism is always better.