Amazon's Grocery Push Keeps Stumbling After Whole Foods Purchase (bloomberg.com)

Bloomberg reports that Amazon is struggling in the $840 billion grocery market, more than a year after it spoked the industry with the $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods last year. "The number of Amazon Prime members who shop for groceries at least once a month declined in 2018 compared with 2017, according to the results of an annual consumer survey released Wednesday by UBS analysts," the report says. "The drop was surprising given the company's Whole Foods investment and expansion of two hour delivery service Prime Now, the analysts wrote in a note to investors." From the report: A separate study by research firm Brick Meets Click found that households using grocery delivery and pickup services from physical retailers spend about $200 per month and place orders more frequently than Amazon grocery shoppers, who spend $74 a month. The number of households with access to online grocery delivery and pickup options will reach 90 percent next year, up from 69 percent in 2017, thanks to big investments by food retailers of all sizes, the report states.

Comments

Re:how

[belg4mit]

There are fees. Part of the problem Amazon has is that there are two separate systems, one Amazon-sourced and one Whole Foods-sourced. Foods show up from both when you're searching, and there's a minimum order for each as well, meaning that unless you're very careful or only want a very narrow set of things, you may end up having to spend $40 or more for each to complete your order, and then pay a tip to a separate drivers for the separate orders as well.

(Speaking from experience as I decided to try this system a few weeks ago when I was stuck in bed with a nasty flu for several days)