Prime Savings Badge
Prime Savings is a cross-functional initiative designed to surface and highlight exclusive savings available to Prime members across the Amazon shopping experience. This project aimed to enhance member perception of value by making savings more visible, contextual, and actionable throughout the membership lifecycle.
Organization
Amazon - Prime
Team
UX Designer x2
Product Manager
Product Director
UX Manager
Role
UX Designer
Timeline
3-4 Months (segmented)
The Customer Problem
Many Prime members are unaware that their membership includes access to Prime Savings—exclusive discounts on select products. Despite being a built-in benefit, this value proposition is not clearly communicated or discoverable within the shopping experience, leading to missed savings opportunities and reduced perception of Prime’s overall value. This same unawareness and communicate is unknown among non Prime members that could lead to not wanting to sign up for Prime to begin with.
Project Context
Amazon Prime offers far more than fast, free shipping. Members get access to music, gaming, photo storage, medical perks, Grubhub+, and other benefits.
One of the least-known perks is exclusive discounts and daily savings on select products. Many members don’t realize they already have this, even though the savings can add up to real value over time. Prime leaders see this as a powerful way to drive both retention among current members and acquisition of new ones.
Design Process
Competitor Analysis
To gain inspiration and identify industry patterns, my partner and I conducted a competitor analysis into similar purchase experience and other experiences that leverage badge communication.
Platforms and products included:
Walmart+, Samsung, Microsoft, Whole Foods, Sam’s Club, Target, IKEA, REI, Sephora, Foot Locker, Champs Sports, Disney, Costco, QFC, Pokémon Center, Uniqlo, Old Navy, JCPenney, Nordstrom, LEGO, and Best Buy.
Discovery and Audit
As part of discovery, we audited existing patterns, guidelines, and flows for both Prime and non-Prime members. We reviewed the shopping design system, documented key notes, and gathered insights from past studies on badging conducted in recent years.
User Flow and Badge Location
We identified the locations and customer flow when customers typically shop from the Search page, to checkout. Spots that will leverage savings communication would be the primary product page, cart, checkout, and promotions page.
Concept and Ideation
In early exploration, we focused on the Prime Savings use case, then compared it with other promotions and deals. We established a baseline structure before scaling to additional programs and their nuances. To maintain consistency and brand recognition, we incorporated Prime’s blue brand color and explored patterns across shape, color, content, iconography, and more.
Challenge
Some of the challenges we experienced as a team was the way we position words such as “Exclusive”, “Deals”, “Savings”, and “Price”. Different members had their individual perspective on the phrasing of the badge and what value we show. In these moments bias and personal perception can block progression.
Savings
Frames the benefit as tangible value, similar to discounts from a grocery store membership. Customers often interpret this as money directly kept in their pocket, which reinforces the idea that the membership “pays for itself.”
Price
When paired with discounts, this highlights the immediate cost reduction on a product. Customers interpret it as a straightforward deal—less about exclusivity and more about the practical, visible benefit at checkout.
Exclusive
Signals a members-only perk, creating a sense of privilege. While it can drive sign-ups, it may also make non-members feel excluded or left out.
Design Proposal
To reinforce Prime’s brand value and drive awareness of member savings, we introduced the PrimeBlue badge. This visual indicator was paired with a messaging component beneath the product price, clearly showing the amount saved with Prime.
WebLab A/B Testing
To validate our new solution, we aimed to launch a Weblab that would measure its impact on customer behavior across Shopping, Promotions, and Search experiences.
We also wanted to test different variants of the content of the badge to measure its communication to both non-Prime members and Prime members.
Challenges
Progress was blocked by misalignment among experience owners. Each team had concerns that the proposed solution might disrupt established experience patterns and compromise existing design system’s integrity.
Instead of treating the lack of alignment as a blocker, we reframed it as a strategic opportunity. We conducted controlled qualitative research to test whether the proposed changes truly disrupted customer expectations or behavioral patterns—transforming stakeholder concerns into actionable insights.
Usability Studies
As part of our study with CIG, we incorporated biometrics to gauge customer perceptions with different visual patterns. The biometrics were coupled with in-depth interviews to delve deeper into the respondent’s perception and key takeways.
Learnings and Reflections
Learnings
Not every initiative leads to launch, but even small efforts can uncover deeper organizational assumptions and spark alignment. The full story revealed more than what made it onto the page.
Relections
This project tested both my design execution and my ability to navigate cross-org alignment. Exploring a global shopping pattern highlighted how transparency and perceived value shape customer trust.
Interested in the project results and impact?
If you are interested in learning more about this project and my design process, please feel free to contact me.