Amazon Announces Another Round of Whole Foods Price Cuts

Whole Foods

When Amazon bought out Whole Foods, almost everyone expected the online retailer to bring its own, modern spin to the grocery business. Some of these changes have been obvious: Amazon's knack for logistics has allowed Whole Foods delivery to rapidly spread across the country. And Amazon's desire to push its Prime memberships has turned Prime benefits into a major part of the Whole Foods experience. But Amazon's approach to pricing has been more novel. The assumption was the Amazon would work to curtail Whole Food's reputation for high prices, but instead of just focusing on sales or other deals, Amazon has chosen to announce these discounts as massive, system-wide price cuts, reinforcing the idea that the brand is looking to permanently lower the cost of shopping at Whole Foods — even if evidence seems to show that these prices have inevitably crept back up.

Yesterday, Amazon announced its latest round — billed as its third round and "largest investment to-date" — of cuts set to take effect tomorrow. "Customers will find new lower prices on hundreds of items throughout the store with an emphasis on high quality, peak-of-season produce, including greens, tomatoes, tropical fruits and more," the brand writes. "Examples of these new lower prices include large yellow mangoes ($1/ea.), mixed-medley cherry tomatoes ($3.49/12oz), and organic bunched rainbow chard ($1.99/ea.). Prices will be reduced by an average of 20 percent on select items throughout the store."

Additionally — surprise, surprise — Amazon will also be boosting the number of Prime member deals as part of its strategy to have customers pay their way to eternal brand loyalty. Amazon says it will be doubling the number of these exclusive, rotating weekly deals, featuring even "deeper discounts."

"When Whole Foods Market joined the Amazon family, we set out to make healthy and organic food more accessible. Over the last year, we've been working together tirelessly to pass on savings to customers," Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer, stated. "Every time a customer walks into a Whole Foods Market, they expect and trust industry-leading quality standards across aisles. And now they will experience that same Whole Foods Market quality with even more savings across departments."

Of course, lower costs are often associated with lower quality, so Amazon brought in Whole Food CEO John Mackey to further emphasize that the company he co-founded is still sticking to its original ideals. "Whole Foods Market continues to maintain the high quality standards that we've championed for nearly 40 years and, with Amazon, we will lower more prices in the future, building on the positive momentum from previous price investments," he added in the announcement. "The standards for how our products are sourced, grown and produced are powerful and set Whole Foods Market apart from the competition. We will continue to focus on both lowering prices and bringing customers the quality they trust and the innovative assortment they expect from our brand."