Amazon Cuts Whole Foods Prices as Much as 43% on First Day

By

Jennifer Kaplan

and

Matthew Boyle

August 28, 2017, 8:15 AM EDT August 28, 2017, 10:45 AM EDT

• Internet giant bought upscale grocery chain for $13.7 billion
• Some prices unchanged but favorites like avocados are cheaper

 

Amazon to Slash Prices, Offer Services at Whole Foods 

 

Amazon Moves Quickly to Show Whole Foods Changes

Amazon.com Inc. spent its first day as the owner of a brick-and-mortar grocery chain cutting prices at Whole Foods Market as much as 43 percent.
At the store on East 57th Street in Manhattan, organic fuji apples were marked down to $1.99 a pound from $3.49 a pound; organic avocados went to $1.99 each from $2.79; organic rotisserie chicken fell to $9.99 each from $13.99, and the price of some bananas was slashed to 49 cents per pound from 79 cents. The marked-down items had orange signs reading “Whole Foods + Amazon.” The signs listed the old price, the new price and “More to come...”.

The Amazon Echo, a voice-activated electronic assistant, was also for sale at the store for $99.99 -- a sharp pivot into electronics for a company known for kale and quinoa. The Echo Dot, a smaller version, was advertised for $44.99.
The tech giant’s $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods has sent shock waves through the already changing $800 billion supermarket industry. The wedding between Amazon and the upscale grocery promises to upend the way customers shop for groceries. Cutting prices at the chain with such an entrenched reputation for high cost that its nickname is Whole Paycheck is a sign that Amazon is serious about taking on competitors such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Kroger Co. and Costco Wholesale Corp.

Whole Foods Market is lowering their prices. Photographer: David Williams

“Price was the largest barrier to Whole Foods’ customers,” said Mark Baum, a senior vice president at the Food Marketing Institute, an industry group. “Amazon has demonstrated that it is willing to invest to dominate the categories that it decides to compete in. Food retailers of all sizes need to look really hard at their pricing strategies, and maybe find some funding sources to build a war chest.”
Simon Salamon, 60, a regular Whole Foods shopper, said the price drop brought him to the East 57th Street store.
“It reminded me why I shop at Amazon,” he said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time they have the best prices and their return policy is great. With the prices lower, I think we’re more likely to shop here every day.”