Amazon Partners with Universities to Deliver Student Savings

Amazon is looking to build a greater presence on college campuses by working with three universities to run co-branded websites and distribution centers for students on campus. The websites will sell textbooks, student apparel, food and just about anything else one could buy from Amazon. The universities that have agreed to partner with Amazon for the “Amazon Campus” initiative include Purdue University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of California Davis.

The Wall Street Journal reports, “Amazon is offering unlimited next-day delivery on campus to Amazon Student Prime members, faster than the two-day guarantee for Amazon’s regular Prime customers.”

amazon_prime_smallOne-day delivery will also be offered on all course materials, with or without an Amazon Prime account. The company plans to deploy distribution centers on campus where students can visit to collect their packages from Amazon lockers or employees.

Prime accounts are available to students at a discounted rate of $49. Amazon’s partnership with college campuses could strengthen Amazon’s sales, especially with added student Prime members. “Amazon has 40 million Prime members worldwide, who spend roughly $1,300 a year on average, nearly triple what non-Prime members do,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster explains.

Ripley MacDonald, director of Amazon student programs, confirmed that Amazon will continue to expand to other universities. WSJ reports that “$10.3 billion [is] spent annually in college bookstores,” where companies such as Barnes & Noble and Follet Corp. have established dominant positioning.

As part of the deals, Amazon has agreed to pay 0.5-2.5 percent for purchases through the co-operated websites in exchange for access to the schools’ course selection software. “Amazon will pay at least $1.45 million to UMass over three years and $1.7 million to Purdue over four years, according to the contracts,” WSJ notes.

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