Companies utilizing memberships is a not a new business tactic, but it has recently been on the rise thanks to a boom in e-commerce businesses. It’s a smart move for any company looking to increase their attractiveness to potential customers. By getting new or infrequent customers to enroll in a membership program instead of just buying products every so often, businesses will be able to create a coveted recurring revenue stream as well as communicate with customers about their buying preferences, both of which could help companies in the long run.

Let’s take a look at three companies who have used memberships to their advantage:

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN – Analyst Report)

Arguably the most well-known and used online membership program is Amazon Prime. For only $99 a year (or $8.25 a month), members receive the highly-valued free two-day shipping (which, as a Prime member myself, is incredibly convenient), unlimited streaming video, a free e-book lending library, unlimited music streaming, and unlimited photo storage plus 5GB of video and file storage that is a part of Amazon Cloud Drive.

While having to pay $99 up front may hinder some customers from signing up for Prime, the free 30-day trial could help ease shelling out that price, since you get access to all of the above mentioned perks. Prime is trying—and succeeding—to make online shopping feel like shopping at a brick-and-mortar store; customers are now using Amazon, with their Prime membership, to buy things they would normally need to drive to a Target (TGT – Analyst Report) or Walmart (WMT – Analyst Report) to purchase, things like household goods, food and beverages, and beauty and grooming products.

Most importantly for Amazon, Prime members spend more on the website than non-members:

Costco Wholesale Corp (COST – Analyst Report)

Costco, the successful wholesale retailer, has made a killing in the membership business. The company makes most of its profits from its membership fees, and this business tactic has proven successful for the company. Look at Costco’s consistent rise in revenue over the past 10 years: