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Amazon Just Made Shopping at Whole Foods Cheaper (businessinsider.com)

Posted by msmash on from the amazonization dept.

Whole Foods just got less expensive. From a report: On Monday, the day that Amazon's $13.7 billion acquisition of the grocer went through, prices on certain Whole Foods items immediately dropped. On Friday, Business Insider visited a Whole Foods location in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, and checked the prices on 15 items (including a few variations on similar items) mentioned by the companies. The total cost of the basket on Friday -- pre-acquisition -- was $97.76. On Monday, we returned to the Gowanus Whole Foods and checked back in on the same items. This time, the total cost of the 15 items was $75.85. That's a nearly 23% drop in the total cost. Whole Trade Banana: 30 cents (Price dropped to $0.49 a pound from $0.79). Lean Ground Beef: $2 (Price dropped to $4.99 a pound from $6.99). Local Grass-Fed 85% Lean Ground Beef: $4 (Price dropped to $6.99 a pound from $10.99). Four-pack of Organic Avocado: $0 (Price stayed at $6.99 for a pack of four). Hass Avocados: $1.01 (Price dropped to $1.49 each from $2.50) for instance.

10 of 248 comments (clear)

  1. Lower prices, at first. by Immerman · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That's the siren song of growing monopolies - economies of scale let them lower prices significantly below the competition... at least until the competition crumbles.

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    --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    1. Re:Lower prices, at first. by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Total tax rate for average person in the US is lower than most European countries... but not by much.

      VAT obviously higher than Sales Tax over here but made up in other ways.

      But what do Europeans get for slightly more taxes?

      Public Healthcare (lower infant mortality, fewer chronic diseases and high expected lifespan).
      Clean-efficient public transport.
      More parks and public spaces in urban areas.
      All schools properly funded, not just ones in areas with wealthy residents.
      Lots... lots... more...

      I'd trade slightly higher taxes if it meant the perks that you get in Europe... ... of course, higher taxes in the US means more money to spend on the military, not on anything useful.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    2. Re:Lower prices, at first. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That just shows your lack of understanding as to how the US works.

      Taxes in New York are considerably higher than taxes in say, Texas.

      When it comes to taxes, the US is more like a group of countries than it is a single country. So while the total tax rate in someplace like California will be much higher other locations like Oklahoma will have a total tax rate much lower.

    3. Re:Lower prices, at first. by Immerman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes, it is. Specifically monopolies are one of the oldest and best-understood failings of the free market. As soon as you drive the competition out of business, there's no longer a free market, and you reap the rewards of being the only provider. Meanwhile no new competition arises, because everyone knows that the minute they enter the market the monopolist can drop prices long enough to drive you out of business, so trying to compete is just an exercise in throwing away your startup investment, which could have been better spent entering a market not dominated by a monopolist.

      Capitalism and the free market are social technologies, not holy edicts. Only a fool ignores their very real failings while clinging to an idealized fantasy.

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      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  2. Tech news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I missed the part in the article where it mentioned the new technologies they are utilizing to achieve this price reduction.

    Do we really need grocery store slashvertisements?

  3. Re:Environment, people and animals by ledow · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Or, buy the cheapest you can find, because price is intrinsically linked to the number and extent of median processes and it costs less to fly bananas to countries than it does to try to heat greenhouses to grow them in that country.

    And then give the difference to Greenpeace or whatever. Or use it to plant your own garden.

    Just because you want to save the planet, doesn't mean you need to be a hippie living in a tree.

  4. Re:Destructive fascist capitalism by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If food is this cheap, people won't see the value in socialism...

    Oh? Well in that case, I suppose the government should stop subsidizing farmers. What's that? You dont know shit about agriculture? Oh my.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  5. Amazon won't be a monopoly by sjbe · · Score: 1, Insightful

    That's the siren song of growing monopolies - economies of scale let them lower prices significantly below the competition... at least until the competition crumbles.

    Amazon is not and probably never will be a monopoly anymore than Walmart is currently. They might be able to set prices in some markets that others follow but they'll (probably) never have so much pricing power that they can drive all competition out of the market. Even Walmart has never been able to drive Target and many others out of business. Not everyone competes on price. Nobody shops at Nordstroms because they are bargain hunting. I'm sure Amazon will drive some marginal competitors out but I don't see any scenario where they drive the strongest competitors out.

    1. Re:Amazon won't be a monopoly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This is an image by someone that doesn't understand the stock market. Market capitalization is something completely different from market share. Market cap is just how much it would take to buy all the shares of a company at the current market price. If some idiot bought Joe's general store in the middle of nowhere for 1 trillion dollars, you would have the same picture except that Joe's would now take up half the picture. A quick peek at the most recent income statement of Wal Mart and Amazon shows Amazon had approx. 135 billion in gross revenue in 2016 while Wal Mart grossed approx. 436 billion. So Amazon the company is selling on the public stock market for twice the price of Wal Mart with a third of the gross revenue. As far as net income goes, lets not even go there. So as far as market share goes, Wal Mart seems to have about triple the retail market share that Amazon does.

      TLDR - the picture is easy to misinterpret for those that don't understand the stock market.

  6. Re:Destructive fascist capitalism by alvinrod · · Score: 3, Insightful

    They really should stop subsidizing farmers though. The U.S. spends billions of dollars on farm subsidies that keep prices artificially high while at the same time spending billions of dollars on food stamps because some people can't afford food. It's utter madness to be doing both at the same time. The original justifications for having farm subsidies are no longer relevant and most of the subsidies aren't going to small family farms, but to corporations or those who don't need them.