Since Amazon purchased Whole Foods this past summer, prices on its food products have dropped immensely and the organic food store has seen a 25 percent increase in foot traffic throughout its stores.
Though Whole Foods is a store that prides itself on its high-quality grocery items, many reports have shown the prices on some products, such as avocados and pasta sauce, have dropped 40 percent. Amazon promises more price slashes in the near future.
Darlene Vennemann, professor of oral communications at California Baptist University, said, “I would like to shop at Whole Foods, but the problem is the prices and accessibility for organic food are limited. There isn’t one in Riverside, so I don’t shop there often.”
Sometimes called “Whole Paycheck” for its prices, many find that Whole Foods’ drop in prices seems intriguing but, because the store is not within a reasonable proximity to CBU, it is difficult to travel far for the newly dropped prices.
“Everybody should be able to eat Whole Foods Market quality,”said Je Wilke, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer, in a statement. “We will lower prices without compromising Whole Foods Market’s commitment to the highest standards.”
“Since I am gluten free, everything (I eat) is ‘healthier,’ that also tends to mean it’s more expensive,” said Jackie Brooke, freshman undeclared major. “Stores raise prices of anything organic and not processed. As college students, we eat what we can afford. If you see prices go down in Whole Foods, you’ll see more kids our age shopping there for food instead of cheaper options like McDonald’s.”
While Amazon needed to make its mark in the food franchise industry, Whole Foods struggled to balance maintaining its profits and keeping its high prices.
Amazon purchased Whole Foods for $14 billion to save the company and launch itself into a new realm of opportunity for success.
