An independent contractor wearing a protective mask and gloves loads Amazon Prime grocery bags right into a automotive outside a Whole Foods Market in Berkeley, California, on Oct. 7, 2020.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Amazon is piloting a recent grocery subscription for members of its Prime program, the corporate said Thursday, marking the newest recalibration of its online supermarket offerings.
Members of the corporate’s Prime program could have the choice to pay $9.99 monthly to get unlimited grocery delivery from Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh on orders greater than $35. They’ll even have access to 30-minute pickup on orders of any size. To start out, the service is rolling out in Denver, Colorado; Sacramento, California; and Columbus, Ohio.
“We’re at all times experimenting with features to make shopping easier, faster, and more cost-effective, and we sit up for hearing how members who reap the benefits of this offer respond,” Tony Hoggett, who leads Amazon’s physical stores business, said in an announcement.
Amazon is betting Prime members will need to pay an extra monthly charge for fresh food to be dropped at their doorstep without pesky delivery fees. A Prime subscription costs $139 per yr, or $14.99 monthly, within the U.S., and the membership’s perks include free, speedy shipping and access to video streaming. With the add-on grocery subscription, the offering could drive greater, and more frequent, food orders amongst Prime members.
Amazon has tweaked its fee-free delivery threshold for Fresh and Whole Foods orders in recent times amid mounting costs. In October, the corporate lowered its threshold free of charge Fresh grocery delivery to orders over $100, after setting the minimum at $150 months earlier. In 2021, the corporate introduced a $10 service fee for Whole Foods delivery orders to Prime members.
Prior to the fee changes earlier this yr, the corporate offered free Amazon Fresh grocery delivery on orders above $35 at no extra cost for Prime members.
Amazon has been determined to cement itself as a grocery destination for shoppers. Since acquiring Whole Foods Market in 2017 for $13.7 billion, it has launched its own chain of Fresh supermarkets, and it’s taken steps more recently to unify its online and brick-and-mortar grocery operations, while appealing to a broader swath of consumers. Last month, the corporate opened Fresh grocery delivery to people without Prime anywhere within the U.S., after testing the feature in a handful of cities.
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