Rethinking Buy with Prime: When It Does Work for CPG Brands

For many D2C marketers, Buy with Prime (BWP) has been dismissed as little more than a checkout widget, a quick way to slap the Prime logo on your site without deeper strategic consideration. But that framing undersells the real potential of the program when it’s applied thoughtfully.

Buy with Prime is not just a “buy button.” It’s a customer experience layer that combines Amazon’s most trusted benefits including fast delivery, seamless checkout, and dependable customer service with the storytelling and control of your owned D2C channel. When used correctly, it can bridge acquisition and retention strategies while still protecting long-term brand equity.

Too often, brands assume BWP is a short-term conversion hack. But it can actually reinforce the D2C value proposition if integrated wisely. According to an Amazon survey, 40% of Prime members are more likely to place a first-time order on a D2C site featuring the Prime logo. That trust halo isn’t trivial; it reduces friction and accelerates trial, particularly for categories where credibility matters.

As Katie Davis, Director of Retail Marketing at Power Digital notes:

“Buy with Prime isn’t meant to replace your D2C store. It’s meant to strengthen it by removing the barriers that keep new customers from checking out.”

That distinction is critical. It reframes the feature as a growth lever to supercharge your website, not a threat to owned channels.

Not every food and beverage or CPG brand is a good fit. For example, brands focused heavily on retail sell-through or trade velocity may find limited synergy, as BWP operates independently of retail POS systems.

But for the right profile, BWP can unlock a powerful acquisition channel. The best candidates tend to be:

In these scenarios, BWP can act as a trial-driving mechanism. A shopper’s first purchase may come through the Prime checkout experience, but the brand’s goal should be to fold that customer into its D2C loyalty ecosystem via email, SMS, and community touchpoints.

The margin implications of BWP are the most debated aspect. Fulfillment and service fees can run up to 15%, a serious consideration in a category where margins are already thin. But the mistake many brands make is evaluating fees in isolation.

The takeaway: don’t guess; model scenarios. Run the math by product line before making a decision.

Perhaps the most under-discussed benefit of BWP is its brand equity impact. By embedding Amazon-backed trust signals into your D2C journey, you reduce friction without sacrificing control. Unlike selling directly on Amazon.com, you retain ownership of the brand story, site experience, and post-purchase relationship.

Handled strategically, BWP can complement, not cannibalize, owned D2C channels. Differentiated bundling, loyalty perks, and content-rich product pages ensure the brand’s site remains the “home base,” while BWP lowers the barrier to entry for hesitant first-time shoppers.

Pro tip: Create a decision checklist for evaluating BWP fit. Pressure test whether your SKU economics, ops, and retention strategy align with the program before rollout.

At Power Digital, we advise brands to approach BWP with equal parts curiosity and caution. Test and learn is the name of the game.

Davis sums it up well:

“The brands that win with Buy with Prime are the ones that treat it as part of a long-term strategy, not a quick fix. It’s a bridge, not a destination.”

Buy with Prime won’t be right for every CPG brand, and that’s okay. But for the right products, with the right operational support, it can be a powerful acquisition lever that builds both trial and trust. The brands that succeed will be the ones who model the trade-offs, align cross-functionally, and keep their eyes on the bigger prize: long-term loyalty and equity.

Want to know if Buy with Prime fits your CPG brand? Contact Power Digital to explore how our team helps brands evaluate, test, and scale strategies that balance growth with profitability.