In case you missed it, Amazon plans to buy Whole Foods for over $13 billion…thereby entering the brick and mortar side of retail in a big way with over 450 stores. Will this change the grocery business? You bet it will! It will also change all retail business in a big way.
Amazon has been eating away at many retail businesses since its inception. Remember Borders Books, Barnes and Nobles, and hundreds of other small bookstores? Same is happening to toy stores. That’s the Amazon Effect. Amazon cornered the on-line shopping world and has now become the “Everything Store.” They can now bring their expertise to the traditional retail world with new concepts that will shake up everything.
Do you use Amazon? I sure do! I am a Prime Member and shop them for most everything these days except groceries. I’ve used them for years because their customer service, prices, and broad choice of products makes them so easy and wonderful to use. They are an exceptional company that offers true value for my dollar. Now, I can get a plethora of products delivered to my door the same day that I order them on-line.
When its 114 outside as it is as I write these words, home delivery sounds pretty good. And that is what we can come to expect from Amazon/Whole Foods…probably at pretty good prices. Wal-Mart will be forced to do the same…and as I do much of my grocery shopping at Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, that is OK with me. I could write a whole blog about Wal-Mart competitive food prices.
As for Whole Foods prices, they are higher than most grocery stores…but there is already talk that Amazon plans to lower prices and shed the high price image of Whole Foods stores. We shall see.
My first three stories go in-depth on what this all means for us normal, everyday consumers, and how some of the traditional stores we have been shopping at for years may disappear in the next couple of years. I encourage you to read them.
You may also find some other interesting stories and tidbits in the rest of this blog, so why not give it a good look. Thanks. -JRC
Tech News and Opinions
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