Amazon is already slashing Whole Foods prices by up to 43%
Amazon has already made some changes to Whole Foods — the kind of changes that customers will seriously appreciate.
The major e-commerce company officially acquired Whole Foods Market on Monday after purchasing the grocery chain for $13.7 billion. And according to Bloomberg, prices for certain items have already been cut by up to 43 percent.
An Amazon press release previously stated that Prime members would be receiving "special savings and in-store benefits," and that the two companies were working towards achieving lower prices on popular food items like bananas, eggs, fish, kale, lettuce, almond butter, apples, rotisserie chicken, ground beef, and even avocados.
The Union Square Whole Foods in Manhattan has already seen price cuts on the first day of the acquisition, with discounted items marked by orange "Whole Foods + Amazon" signs.
The price of organic avocados was lowered from $2.50 each to $1.49 each, bananas (pictured as melons) dropped from 99 cents per pound to 69 cents per pound, and the price of tomatoes on the vine were lowered from $3.49 per pound to $1.99.
Prices for ground beef and fish, among other items, were also significantly cut.
"We’re determined to make healthy and organic food affordable for everyone. Everybody should be able to eat Whole Foods Market quality – we will lower prices without compromising Whole Foods Market’s long-held commitment to the highest standards," Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer said in a statement on Thursday.
How customers feel about the swanky new prices
According to Amazon, more product discounts are to come, but will the lower prices make people more inclined to shop at Whole Foods?
One customer at the Union Square Whole Foods in NYC explained that with school starting up again sales are key. "As a student I buy just what’s on sale," she said, positively reacting to the drop.
Another customer noted that Amazon products like Echos and Dots are currently being sold at a discount in the middle of Whole Foods' produce section. "I thought it was interesting because I heard about Amazon buying Whole Foods," she said. "The Amazon Dots and Echos were at the bottom of the escalator. They featured the normal prices and then the new reduced price..."
Seeing Amazon tech products sold next to grapes is certainly going to take some getting used to, but according to the company this is just the beginning for Whole Foods discounts.
Additional reporting by Samantha Scelzo.
UPDATE: Aug. 28, 2017, 12:39 p.m. UTC Updated to include photographs from Whole Foods and comments from customers.
Topics Amazon
Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.
