The Prime rewards are coming; the Prime rewards are coming.
Such is the hue and cry set to go off in about a dozen states, as Amazon is starting to ramp up its discounting for Prime members in Whole Foods locations nationwide.
The move, in some sense, is not much of a change in pace for Whole Foods — once known “affectionately” as Whole Paycheck — under Amazon’s ownership, where prices have come down in many ways. Organic turkeys were on sale for Thanksgiving, and grocery deals and discounts have been running rampant in Whole Foods’ once very pricey aisles, as Amazon works overtime to live up to its promise of making organic groceries more accessible.
Now the benefits list is expanding, as customers in 12 additional states (and at all Whole Foods Market 365 stores) will now be able to use their Prime membership to access more deals.
As of today, the extra benefits are available at Whole Foods Markets in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kansas City, Missouri, Louisiana, New Mexico, northern Nevada, northern California, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.
Going forward, Prime members can look forward to a 10 percent discount off sale items throughout the stores, plus other discounts as they happen upon certain products. Shoppers in Prime-ready stores today, for example, can pick up a $6 rotisserie chicken or a 6 oz. container of raspberries for $2.50.
For some very select customers — in Austin, Dallas, Sacramento and San Francisco — Whole Foods-shopping Prime members can combine their discounts with free two-hour grocery delivery on orders of $35. That program, according to Amazon, is also due for expansion this year.
For Whole Foods shoppers, further discounting is available with the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa, which offers an additional 5 percent cash back.