Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.K. have finally been given access to the Prime Reading benefit that was introduced to the U.S. version of the service last year. Prime Reading offers a rotating selection of books and magazines for no added fee over the cost of a subscription.
This added incentive shouldn’t be confused with Kindle Unlimited, which is a separate subscription service offered by Amazon that grants unlimited access to a broad range of books, magazines, and audiobooks. Kindle Unlimited certainly boasts a more comprehensive selection, but Prime Reading is no slouch considering it’s a free bonus.
Prime Reading launched in the U.S. in October 2016, so it has taken a little while for the incentive to make its way across the pond. This isn’t particularly uncommon — despite Prime Video having been available in some form stateside since 2006, it wasn’t available in the U.K. until 2014.
However, Amazon should be praised for localizing the content with care, as the reading material available to customers in the U.K. is quite different from the selection available in the U.S.. This is particularly true of the list of magazines that are on offer, which includes the likes of Chat, Red, and BBC Gardeners’ World, according to a report from Engadget.
The fact that Prime Reading offers a selection of content that lends itself to the Kindle line of devices certainly plays into the wider Amazon ecosystem, but the incentive isn’t only available to users of the company’s proprietary eReaders and tablets. The Kindle app can be used to access the library across a wide range of devices.
Prime is a hugely important part of Amazon’s business model, so it makes a lot of sense for the company to continue to bolster the subscription service in all its key markets. Customer retention is key for a business like Amazon, and appealing Prime incentives such as this one help ensure that shoppers keep coming back.
