Amazon Prime Now Begins Deliveries from Select Whole Foods Markets
Amazon and Whole Foods Markets announced they are launching free two-hour delivery from Whole Foods Markets in four cities, Austin, Cincinnati, Dallas, and Virginia Beach.
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There are neighborhood limitations within the cities, so shoppers can find out if this new delivery service services them by entering their zip code in the Amazon Prime Now app. The app is available for Android and IOS.
According to the Prime Now website, the deliveries are made from local Whole Foods Market stores.
“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. Together, we have already lowered prices on many items, and this offering makes Prime customers’ lives even easier.”
John Mackey, Whole Foods Market co-founder and CEO
Prime customers can shop thousands of items from fresh produce, meats, seafood, bakery, floral, and everyday staples. Select alcohol is also delivery for delivery.
Prime members receive free two-hour delivery on orders of $35 or more and can even choose one-hour delivery for an additional $7.99 per order. The delivery service runs daily from 8am to 10pm.
Expansion Plans for 2018
The rollout in four markets in the U.S. is just the beginning. The company said it has plans to expand the service in 2018, but did not state when and where.
However, a peek at the Prime Now website shows existing service is currently available for restaurant or local store (other than Whole Foods Market) delivery in the following cities:
New York, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Seattle, Dallas, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, Los Angeles & Orange County, Chicago, San Diego, Austin, Atlanta, Denver, Indianapolis, Houston, Miami, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Tampa, Orlando, Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Columbus, Las Vegas and Portland, OR.
It would seem most logical to assume that expansion of the Whole Foods Market delivery service will come from that list.
Local Products
The inclusion of locally sourced products in the delivery service is also good news for SMEs that offer unique products in regional markets.
While there is no automatic integration with a “third-party marketplace”, Whole Foods Markets does have a portal for vendors.
If you are an SME with a unique or local food product in one of the four launch markets, this new delivery service could be a good opportunity to increase sales.
What are your thoughts on Amazon Prime Now and Whole Foods Market deliveries? Head over to our Facebook Discussion Group or use the comments section below.
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Richard Meldner
Richard is co-founder of eSeller365. He has over 17 years of experience on eBay which includes tens of thousands of sales to buyers in over 100 countries and even has experience with eBay’s VeRO program enforcing intellectual property rights for a former employer. And for about two years Richard sold products on Amazon using Amazon FBA in the US.
To “relax” from the daily business grind, for a few weekends a year, he also works for IMSA as a professional race official.