Amazon launched Prime as a subscription service in 2005.
Amazon introduced Amazon Prime in the United States in February 2005. The original membership offered free two-day shipping on eligible purchases, turning delivery speed into a central part of Amazon’s retail strategy. The service later expanded to include video streaming, music, reading benefits, and other services, depending on the country.
Amazon began as an online bookstore founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, but it expanded into broad retail, cloud computing, advertising, devices, and entertainment. Prime is sometimes mistaken for a separate streaming company; it is an Amazon membership program whose benefits extend beyond video.