Amazon has announced that they will be charging a $9.95 delivery fee for Whole Foods orders.
Dear Prime Member,
We are writing to let you know about an upcoming change to Prime grocery delivery benefits at Whole Foods Market in your area. Starting October 25, 2021, delivery orders from Whole Foods Market in your area will include a $9.95 service fee. This service fee helps to cover operating costs so we can continue to offer the same competitive everyday prices in-store and online at Whole Foods Market.
One-hour grocery pickup at Whole Foods Market will continue to be free for Prime members in your area. Other exclusive benefits for Prime members at Whole Foods Market include special deals throughout the year and an additional 10% savings on top of sales prices storewide (excluding alcohol). Additionally, Prime members with an Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card will continue to get 5% back on all credit card purchases in-store and online at Whole Foods Market. Two-hour grocery delivery from Amazon Fresh remains free for Prime members.
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I can get food several places without the $9.95 charge, so I'll delete my Whole Foods order and shop elsewhere...
It's already $9.95 for Whole foods order in Chicago
Since Amazon's Whole Foods Market chooses to only locate stores in trendy neighborhoods for trendy people (The same exact trendy neighborhoods that Trader Joes, the only other supermarket that seems to open new locations, puts it's stores in, while other places have had most of their supermarkets driven out by rising rents), hows about a $10 per order delivery discount for the money they save by not paying for the cost of a store for people who they choose to not afford that option to.
What in the world are you talking about?
Whole Foods has a comparatively small share of the US grocery market and aims at a pretty niche audience, as you observe. If the bigger fish aren't opening stores by you, why would they?
This does not surprise me. I have recently visited some WFM in wealthier areas in Connecticut, and multiple times there have been more employees packing delivery/pickup orders than there were actual customers shopping the floor.
The West Hartford and Fairfield, CT locations in particular removed most if not all of their cafe seating (likely due to COVID) and now they are delivery staging areas. The Fairfield store in particular had so many employees packing orders that they lacked enough shelf space to store everything.
Fresh is still free delivery. Don't they just get everyone from Whole Foods anyway?
Fresh usually comes from their warehouse, WF usually comes from the actual store. I can't see WF delivery making sense or sticking around in the future tbh
Only going to WF to get free after ibotta items lately anyway. Their deals dried up during the crisis.
Bezos to Mars!
In other words, please fund upcoming bezos intergalactic space trip.
Surprised they didn't think to make this free for Amazon card holders. Would incentivize signups most likely. Maybe it's not necessary as AMEX will likely soon have an offer err coupon for reimbursement off a few of them.
They've already been charging that for a month here in Massachusetts.
And obviously it didn't cause them to lose enough business for them not to roll it out everywhere.