Amazon. com has launched a Prime membership service for businesses, looking to replicate in the workplace the quick delivery of online orders that made it a go-to shopping destination for households.

Business Prime Shipping, available in the United States and Germany, offers free two-day delivery to companies paying $499 (€424) to $10,999 (€9,345) a year depending on their size, Amazon said.

The subscription programme is looking to win business from office supply stores such as Staples Inc and Office Depot Inc.

Transactions

Business-to-business transactions have been slower to shift online than retail, but could be a bigger revenue opportunity in the long term, said Andy Hoar, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. He estimates the US market will reach $1.2 trillion (€1 trillion) by 2021, up from $889 billion (€755 billion) this year.

“I don’t see the same ceiling in business-to-business sales as I do in retail,” Mr Hoar said.

“In retail, people want to go to the store to see and touch things. For business sales, people don’t want to have to go to the store.”

– (Bloomberg)