Despite rumors of cheaper groceries, prices at Whole Foods have only decreased by 1.2 percent overall after Amazon bought the company for $13.7 billion five weeks ago, says a study by the research firm Gordon Haskett.
“And although Amazon offered discounts on a number of items right away, some of those prices have crept back up, according to the data,” says the LA Times. “The price of frozen foods, for example, was 7 percent higher on Sept. 26 than on Aug. 28, when Amazon officially took over. Snack items rose 5.3 percent in that period, and dairy and yogurt were up 2 percent. (Among categories where prices are lower: beverages, down about 2.8 percent; bread and bakery, down 6.8 percent; and produce, down 0.5 percent.).”
Prices on 70 percent of the items in Haskett’s analysis stayed the same. However by dropping the cost of certain items, like avocados, Amazon was able to generate more business immediately after the takeover, bringing in “$1.6 million in sales through Amazon.com and its services, including Amazon Fresh and Prime Now, according to e-commerce analytics firm One Click Retail,” says the Times.
Within the first week, 93 percent of Whole Foods products sold out on Amazon thanks to the popularity surge, according to One Click Retail. Prices at Whole Foods — nicknamed Whole Paycheck by some — have historically been 15 percent higher than other leading grocers.