Whole Foods is basically the Holy Grail of supermarkets. One day I aspire to reach the financial security that entails shopping there all the time. Although, now I may be able to ease up on my budgeting—following its complete acquisition of Whole Foods on Monday, Amazon plans to cut prices of several of the chain’s items, The Chicago Tribune reports. Given this news, Amazon truly deserves its dominance of the retail world.
Amazon says that it will cut prices on bananas, eggs, salmon, avocados and more when its takeover of Whole Foods is finalized. The decision has emerged following the store’s gradual loss of customers, which is allegedly a result of patrons finding healthy, organic food at a better cost elsewhere. On top of seeing lower prices, members of the Amazon Prime program are also expected to find certain products available to them.
“Rivals should be under no illusion that they are now dealing with a competitor that is not afraid to damage profits and margins if it creates long-term goals,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail.
Amazon certainly isn’t the first online entity to strike up a partnership with a large chain. According to The Tribune, Walmart is partnering with Uber to improve its grocery delivery service, in addition to having Google devices work with customers ordering products.
While this news inspires me to buy all the cookbooks and try out the most elaborate dishes, Whole Foods still has a challenge ahead of it. The store faces the possibility of maintaining its reputation of quality food regardless of the price cuts.
Luckily, the team behind the process is hopeful about doing this. “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 AmazonWorldwide Consumer, told The Tribune.
We won't know how successful this deal will be immediately, but I'm going to reap in all the benefits (cheap avocados!) as quickly as possible.