Amazon is using credit card tactics to hook college students on Prime

Vincent Wang needed new jeans and a coat just before classes began this semester at the University of California, Davis, where he studies nutrition. Rather than trek several miles off campus to the nearest Target or Walmart, he ordered the clothes from Amazon.com Inc. and retrieved them from new Amazon pickup lockers right next to the university store that sells Aggies T-shirts and hoodies. Wang, 21, is one of millions of students who have taken advantage of Amazon Prime Student, which offers all the benefits of a regular Prime membership -- quick delivery, music and video streaming and free online photo storage -- for 50 a year, half the regular price. Amazon's strategy echoes the one used for decades by the credit card companies: snag young consumers early and, with artful promotions, try to make them loyal for life. The pickup lockers are just another way to pull students into the Amazon universe, giving them convenient locations to retrieve packages if they're worried about having merchandise sent to dorm rooms and apartments.