Amazon Just Slashed Whole Foods’ Store Prices, Will Give Discounts To Prime Members
Photo: Mike Mozart on Flickr.
Amazon has finally closed its acquisition deal with Whole Foods, which means the corporate giant officially owns the grocery chain, effective Monday.
According to Amazon, the companies will work together to remove the “whole paycheck” connotation of Whole Foods, where it is often joked that consumers have to spend their entire paychecks in order to afford Whole Foods.
Amazon will immediately drop prices at Whole Foods starting Monday, and while not every single item will drop in price, “a selection of best-selling grocery items will,” according to a press release.
The release hints that organic bananas, eggs, avocados, baby kale, salmon, and more will be cheaper.
As Amazon slashes Whole Foods’ prices, they’ll be working on other collaborations as well, integrating their Prime technology into Whole Foods’ system. This means Whole Foods private label products will be available on Amazon’s grocery options, including Amazon Fresh and Amazon Pantry.
Amazon lockers will begin to pop up inside of Whole Foods stores, meaning you can buy food and pick up packages at the same time. Amazon Prime will also eventually become Whole Foods’ customer rewards program, as members will enjoy special savings and discounts as a result.
Amazon added that these price cuts would not translate to a loss of quality. Whole Foods will continue to uphold its welfare and food standards across the board, thus, more people can now afford the healthier, fresher food that this grocery chain provides.
Following Amazon’s news of the Whole Foods price cuts, grocery stocks tumbled once again. Kroger share prices fell as much as 8%, while Sprouts closed at a 6% drop, and Walmart shares fell 2%.
Amazon slashes Whole Foods prices as well as it slashes its competitors, it seems, and it could be big trouble for the grocery industry.
We’ll have to wait and see what the future of Amazon, Whole Foods, and other grocers entails. Until then, we’ll be enjoying the new price cuts at Whole Foods.
