Amazon promised to make Whole Foods cheaper. But now some prices are rising

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... l#nws=true

I was in Whole Foods tonight, and I did not see any coupon books, and so I asked at customer service. The woman replied that the September one was the last one. They are going to implement something similar to mymixx. You are going to be able to go on Whole Food's website, and sign up for the program in the near future. When you sign up for the program, you give them your email address and phone number. You can then go on their website once the program, and download coupons to your account, similar to the way Jewel's mymixx works. When you get to the register, you enter your phone number, and any coupons that you have added to your account, are applied to items you have purchased. There will no longer be any coupon books, or coupons on their website that you can print. This program has not begun yet.

PSA - in the wrapper ad of my Chicago Tribune this morning was a $5 WF gift card. No minimum purchase required.

Hi- Whole Foods is lowering more prices. They also have a deal now for Amazon Prime members, where you can go to Amazon.com, and print a coupon off whole turkeys. If you are a Prime member, and you present the coupon that you printed off, you can save 20% on your turkey, or 14% off your organic turkey. Apparently they are going to role out more deals in the coming weeks for Prime members who shop at WF. amazon.com/turkey is where the turkey coupon is. Hope this helps, Nancy

At the Whole Foods in Northbrook (Willow Road) they rolled out a comprehensive discount program for Prime members. There are sales throughout the store that are only available to prime members. To get the discount (although today they were giving them to anyone) you need to get the Whole Food App on your phone and link the Whole Food App to your Amazon account. Once you do that there is a bar code that you'll show them each time that will give you all the available discounts. You can also link it all to your phone number.

Jonah wrote:At the Whole Foods in Northbrook (Willow Road) they rolled out a comprehensive discount program for Prime members. There are sales throughout the store that are only available to prime members. To get the discount (although today they were giving them to anyone) you need to get the Whole Food App on your phone and link the Whole Food App to your Amazon account. Once you do that there is a bar code that you'll show them each time that will give you all the available discounts. You can also link it all to your phone number.

Thanks for the heads up. Nice to do at home in advance of the next shopping trip.

Al Ehrhardt wrote:

Jonah wrote:At the Whole Foods in Northbrook (Willow Road) they rolled out a comprehensive discount program for Prime members. There are sales throughout the store that are only available to prime members. To get the discount (although today they were giving them to anyone) you need to get the Whole Food App on your phone and link the Whole Food App to your Amazon account. Once you do that there is a bar code that you'll show them each time that will give you all the available discounts. You can also link it all to your phone number.

Thanks for the heads up. Nice to do at home in advance of the next shopping trip.

I barely shop there but this could make me keep Prime.

Not to sound like a shill for the antichrist, but for prime members, the Amazon prime credit cards give 5% back for whole foods purchases, as well as amazon.com purchases.

I just bought a good looking piece of wild caught Alaskan salmon and three little mochi ice creams at my local WF. Being a Prime member saved me almost $11 on these two items alone. Nice!!!!!

Uh, oh...any more postings in praise of WF and we'll need to change the title of this thread.

I was in the downtown Evanston WF yesterday to get a jar of peanut butter. I love their frozen Caribbean bars, and I noticed that they have lowered the price to $2.29, but I walked there, and it was a 15 minute walk to get home, and I just knew those bars would melt on my way home.

Concerning the Prime credit card, is there an annual fee associated with that? Also the credit card is only a good deal if you pay off your balance every month.

NFriday wrote:Concerning the Prime credit card, is there an annual fee associated with that?

No. They offer two CC options, both through Chase, and neither charges an annual fee.

NFriday wrote:Also the credit card is only a good deal if you pay off your balance every month.

This is true of just about any credit card. Rates are about triple what it costs to borrow 'real' money, they're computed very unfavorably for the cardholder and the interest paid is not deductible. Credit card interest is just about the worst deal you can find, without going to a loan shark or getting a pay-day loan.

=R=

NFriday wrote:I love their frozen Caribbean bars, and I noticed that they have lowered the price to $2.29, but I walked there, and it was a 15 minute walk to get home, and I just knew those bars would melt on my way home.

When I go shopping on these hot days I bring a cold bag and a little blue ice pack. I am sure if you asked at the fish or meat counter they would give you a plastic bag full of ice to put in with your purchases. I've asked for that when buying fish on a hot day before I started bringing my kit.

I received an email this morning informing me that free 2-hour delivery from Whole Foods is now available to Prime members. At the moment overall selection in my zip code appears limited but I'm guessing that will be expanded over time.

=R=

Hi- I you are an Amazon Prime member they have a deal at Whole Foods, where if you spend $10 at the store, you get a $10 credit to use at Amazon on Prime day. You have to either download their app and use it when you check out in the store, or register your phone number and then enter that when you check out.

My zip code was eligible for Primenow so I thought I would try it instead of Instacart, but the interface was so much worse than Instacart (unclear delivery time options until after you shop; bad algorithm governing search results; no ability to add to an order already scheduled) that I ended up cancelling the order. Maybe they will work out the kinks.

annak wrote:My zip code was eligible for Primenow so I thought I would try it instead of Instacart, but the interface was so much worse than Instacart (unclear delivery time options until after you shop; bad algorithm governing search results; no ability to add to an order already scheduled) that I ended up cancelling the order. Maybe they will work out the kinks.

Haha, history indicates that they probably will. After all, they won't be able to wrest control of the planet away from Google if they don't.

=R=

Here is an article I found in Supermarket News about Whole Foods and Prime Day.

https://www.supermarketnews.com/online- ... y-shoppers

It is interesting that somebody did a survey, and something like 47% of the people who did not take advantage of the $10 credit at Amazon if you spend $10 at Whole Foods the week of Prime day, and are a member of Amazon Prime, did not know that it existed, and another 25% said they did not need groceries that week at WF.

NFriday wrote:Here is an article I found in Supermarket News about Whole Foods and Prime Day.

https://www.supermarketnews.com/online- ... y-shoppers

It is interesting that somebody did a survey, and something like 47% of the people who did not take advantage of the $10 credit at Amazon if you spend $10 at Whole Foods the week of Prime day, and are a member of Amazon Prime, did not know that it existed, and another 25% said they did not need groceries that week at WF.

well, this makes me feel better. maybe fewer people are sheep than i figured. i got the $10 credit, but i didnt use it....

Less a sheep than a sloth. Would have used it had I remembered, but lately too lazy to do even grocery shopping once I get home from work.

spinynorman99 wrote:Less a sheep than a sloth. Would have used it had I remembered, but lately too lazy to do even grocery shopping once I get home from work.

They now deliver within 2 hours.

stevez wrote:

spinynorman99 wrote:Less a sheep than a sloth. Would have used it had I remembered, but lately too lazy to do even grocery shopping once I get home from work.

They now deliver within 2 hours.

I know, but that requires the effort of ordering.

I just found a card from Whole Foods in my mailbox, announcing the grand opening of the Vernon Hills store on October 3rd. First 500 customers through the door get a Whole Foods Market gift card. One lucky winner gets a $500 gift card.

Problem is, today is October 10th.

I'm curious if others have opinions about how the Amazonification of Whole Foods is going.

What I'm mainly noticing is that the depth of selection is not as great as it used to be. Many things I could rely on WF to have are no longer stocked, especially in the areas of things like Asian Condiments, and even some spiced that they always had. They always stocked an Icelandic baking chocolate that was my go to, and this last trip it was nowhere to be found.

In fruit and veg, I was recently told that they no long stock certain "exotic" things that I could rely on them for in the past.

I'm as happy with the meat and seafood as I've always been. Never liked their cheese, which I felt hadn't been properly stored and aged.

The South Loop store just seems to have shrunk or changed many areas. the bakery is completely different, for example.

It's purely anecdotal, but since the purchase I've found lines to be almost maddeningly long, often stretching back down the food aisles. Now, this is in Oak Park/River Forest, and it's one of the oldest WF stores in the area - 17 years? more? - so maybe it's not as well designed as other locations. But it's also the added action of people scanning their phones to get discounts and other Amazon related BS that slows things down, imo. Maybe they cut staff, too? I definitely have not noticed lower prices or better selection, and while they keep pushing benefits for Prime members, like picking up stuff in Amazon lockers or having food delivered, those are not benefits I want. So, taken in total, coincidence or not I've noticed I've gone to WF significantly less since the takeover, and only pop in if there is some specialty item I need and know for a fact they carry.

The North Brook Wholefoods on Willow Road has installed self checkout registers/lanes to move lines along faster as retail stores are struggling to find staff. I assume the self checkout lanes will be brought to the other Whole Foods locations as well.

Also regarding the Amazon Prime discounts there pretty good as you get an additional 10% off all sale items. So for example 4 chocolate croissant package was on sale for $4 ($7 regular price) this week + Prime discount $0.40 makes it worthwhile. Also they have prepared food deals for prime members from what i recall 2 for $5 pizza slices on Fridays (vs. $3.79/slice). I think for all the grocery store pizzas, Whole foods is the best of the prepared offerings.

The meat and seafood departments have become far more useful for me since the Amazon acquisition.

Previously, they were charging butcher shop and fish monger prices for something that fell short of that quality, but much higher than your big grocery store.

But now w the lower prices and sale options, the prices are much more reasonable and sometimes cheaper than Marianos and Jewel

Amazon Wants to Rule the Grocery Aisles, and Not Just at Whole Foods

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/28/tech ... ocery.html

I shop mostly at the Northbrook Whole Foods. The changes have been minimal, none for the worse. The product selection is, as best I can tell, unchanged. They re-arranged the layout of the store to make things like booze more prominent, but that has no effect on me.

A few of the products I buy have had their prices reduced. Their rib eye steak is a favorite, and it's now quite a bit cheaper even when not on sale. I also like the prime member discount. It takes .5 seconds to scan your phone and it's done.

All in all, just a few minor changes, and those changes have been neutral or for the better.

polster wrote:Also regarding the Amazon Prime discounts there pretty good as you get an additional 10% off all sale items. So for example 4 chocolate croissant package was on sale for $4 ($7 regular price) this week + Prime discount $0.40 makes it worthwhile.

I despise Amazon generally, for non-food related reasons, so I am not a Prime member (never bought anything on the site). But having seen this, knowing my mom is a prime member I asked the employee at the North Evanston WF if in fact the discount was true. She said yes, and did not provide any caveats. Naive chump that I am, I borrowed my mom's cell a couple days later to buy some craft beer there, thinking the 10% off would make up for the 6%+ excess tax Evanston charges compared to the Jewel 2 blocks north in Wilmette. Once at check-out, WF app is scanned, no discount (at least I didn't load up, was just 2 4/6pks).
**Extra 10% Prime discount on sale items EXCLUDES ALCOHOL**
I was played. Just another sucker adding to Bezos's riches.