Amazon,
Whole Foods Launch Two-Hour Grocery Delivery
Amazon
and Whole Foods Market are introducing free two-hour delivery
of groceries from Whole Foods Market to customers with an Amazon
Prime membership in Austin, Cincinnati, Dallas and Virginia
Beach. The companies plan to expand the service across the United
States in 2018.
Customers
with a Prime membership may shop thousands of items across the
categories of produce, bakery, dairy, meat and seafood and everyday
staples from Whole Foods Market at primenow.com or through the
Prime Now app. Prime members receive free two-hour delivery
or delivery within an hour for $7.99 on orders of $35 or more.
Digital
collided with brick and mortar last August when Amazon finalized
its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market. That same
day, Whole Foods Market lowered the prices of some best-selling
grocery staples across its stores. Since then, the companies
have introduced Amazon lockers in Whole Foods Market stores.
Customers may have products shipped from Amazon.com to a local
Whole Foods store for pickup, or consumers may send returns
back to Amazon via the lockers.
"We're
happy to bring our customers the convenience of free two-hour
delivery through Prime Now and access to thousands of natural
and organic groceries and locally sourced favorites," said
John Mackey, co-founder and chief executive officer of Whole
Foods Market. "Together, we have already lowered prices
on many items, and this offering makes Prime customers' lives
even easier."