Amazon is expanding its same-day delivery services at Whole Foods Market and offering more subscribers of its popular Prime service price discounts at the grocer.
The e-commerce giant announced on Tuesday it would provide free two-hour delivery through Prime to Whole Foods’ locations in Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, and Richmond. Amazon says it intends to extend that service nationwide by the end of 2018.
[Previous coverage: Whole Foods introduces discounts for Amazon Prime subscribers]
“Today’s announcement is another way that we are continuing to expand access to our high-quality products and locally-sourced favorites,” Christina Minardi, the company’s executive vice president of operations, said in a statement.
Along with fresh produce, seafood and meat, Amazon will also offer alcohol delivery to customers in Richmond. The Seattle-based company also announced on Monday it would offer Prime customers discounts on Whole Foods’ products in ten additional states, including Arizona, North Carolina, and Oregon. The member deals are currently offered in 23 states and more are expected to be added in the coming months.
“Based on the positive customer feedback and successes we’ve seen over the past month, we’re accelerating our timeline to expand these savings to all of our U.S. stores,” Whole Foods chief operating officer A.C. Gallo said in a statement.
The expanded offerings are the latest in Amazon’s aggressive move to bolster its grocery business after purchasing Whole Foods in 2017. The company has capitalized on the brick and mortar locations to, among other things, place Amazon delivery lockers in the physical stores. It is also pushing customers towards its Prime service after hiking the price of an annual membership by 20 percent to $119. Amazon chief executive officer Jeff Bezos announced earlier this year the program has over 100 million subscribers.
Amazon’s stock was up slightly in pre-market trading to $1,689.12.
