So, Amazon Wants to Buy AMC Theaters…

News outlets reported last week that Amazon has looked at acquiring AMC Theaters with its almost 600 locations in the US and more than 350 in Europe. It would be ironic if Amazon became a leader in the experience economy - or at least the get-out-of-the-house economy - after all they have done to allow people to avoid in-person shopping. 

While others have looked at AMC’s potential role in the Amazon Studios business, we stay focused on Amazon customers and how AMC Theaters could enhance their relationship with the company. Amazon might have a small but meaningful revenue opportunity with an in-person movie exhibitor such as AMC. It can likely acquire the company cheaply, and could go beyond using the operations as a consumer research laboratory.

We looked at two aspects of Amazon customer streaming video consumption: how often all Amazon customers rent video from Amazon, and how often Amazon Prime members watch Prime Video content. Customers rent video at a relatively low rate, while Prime members use the Prime Video service more actively.

Amazon streaming video rental is available to all customers regardless of their Prime membership status. About 5% of Amazon customers rent video as often as once a week, though well over half have never rented streaming video content from Amazon (Chart 1).