Amazon Fresh with. Whole Foods: What’s the Difference? !
For most people, shopping for food and groceries is a very important part of their daily life. As consumers also become more aware of the origin, quality and price of their food, we’re starting to be suspicious of two of the world’s largest grocery chains.
As more retailers move online, the options available to you grow. With Amazon’s recent acquisition of Whole Foods, many are wondering what’s the difference between their Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods. which option is best for you.
Let’s take a deep dive into what are the main differences between Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods…
What’s the difference between Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods
You might be asking yourself why Amazon already owns Amazon Fresh, why buy Whole Foods? Aren’t they two competing with each other?
Actually not. Both marketplaces are designed to target different customers and they are not direct competitors.
While Whole Foods aims to sell organic, high-quality groceries to health-conscious consumers at higher prices, Amazon Fresh, on the other hand, is aimed at consumers looking for more choice at all price points.
So with these two brands, Amazon intends to tap into a wider market where it can target consumers regardless of their preferences.
Best of all, if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can enjoy great deals while shopping with both services. As you probably know, Amazon Fresh started out as an online service where you could get local and international brands of groceries and fresh vegetables delivered directly to your door.
Now that Amazon Fresh also has brick-and-mortar stores, this is slowly changing. Likewise, you can order online from Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh.
If you do choose to order online, you’ll get great deals if you’re an Amazon Prime member. For example, Prime members get free 2-hour shipping on any order over $35, but note that this is only available in certain locations.
If you’re a Prime member, you also have a pickup option, which has the advantage of having no minimum order.
So if you’re on a budget and you don’t really care if your food is organic, Amazon Fresh is a great option for you.
On the other hand, if you’re really health conscious and don’t want to eat anything non-organic, Whole Foods is where you should be shopping.
What are the advantages of shopping at Amazon Fresh?
One of the other major differences between shopping from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods is Amazon Fresh’s lack of brick-and-mortar stores. Earlier, if you ordered anything from Whole Foods, it would be picked up from your local Whole Foods store and delivered directly to your door.
On the other hand, if you order anything from Amazon Fresh, it will be picked up from Amazon Warehouses or a registered local seller.
That changed last August 2020, when Amazon opened its first brick-and-mortar store for Amazon Fresh in Woodland Hills, California. This is a concept store that combines online shopping and brick-and-mortar stores, and is expected to usher in a new generation of grocery stores.
Amazon commented that it plans to open more Amazon Fresh stores nationwide as well as internationally. But the main feature of these stores is how they integrate and use technology.
Brick-and-mortar stores are filled with high-tech features like automated checkouts, Alexa kiosks, and Amazon Dash shopping carts. Let us introduce them one by one.
Alexa Kiosk
One of the biggest upgrades to your grocery shopping experience is the addition of Alexa kiosks in stores. You can ask Alexa where a certain food item is in the middle of a store, and it will direct you to the correct island.
Beyond that, you can ask Alexa for dinner ideas, how to pair certain foods, and even for certain food facts, such as the nutritional value of a certain food.
The features don’t stop there, you can start a grocery shopping list at home with Alexa and continue adding items to your store with the help of Dash Carts.
As you keep adding items to your cart, they are automatically removed from your list.
This adds a whole new dimension to your grocery shopping experience that you won’t find anywhere else.
Automatic Checkout with Amazon Dash Carts
Are you tired of waiting in line at checkout? Many times this step takes more time than the actual shopping. Well, Amazon Fresh will take care of that for you. You can use the Amazon Dash shopping cart to skip the checkout line entirely.
Using algorithms and sensors, the Amazon Dash shopping cart can identify the items in your cart and continually remove them from your Alexa shopping list. You can view the items in your cart from the large screen on the cart and even apply coupons directly to the cart.
There are specific Dash cart lines in the store, so you don’t have to wait in line anywhere. The final amount will be automatically charged to your registered credit card when you leave the store.
To use the Amazon Dash cart, all you need to do is open the QR code on the Amazon app on your phone and scan it with your Dash Cart. After this, simply add the item to your cart by scanning the QR code on the item.
If the light turns orange, you will have to rescan the item. After placing the item in the cart, you must confirm the weight and walk out of the store.
Amazon Pickup and Return Center
Another great feature of Amazon Fresh stores is that they’re not just grocery stores, they’re like Amazon warehouses from which you can pick up orders you’ve placed online through Amazon and return items.
You no longer need the original packaging to return items.
So, in one step, you can easily complete your grocery shopping and pick up your Amazon order or return it. Even if you don’t have a brick-and-mortar Amazon Fresh store in your area, you can simply order what you need online and have it delivered right to your door.
Want to learn more about Amazon Fresh?Make sure to read these next to find out if Amazon Fresh is included in Prime, how to return Amazon Fresh totes, and whether you tip Amazon Fresh drivers
in conclusion..
It’s clear that Amazon is working hard to create a one-stop shop for all your needs, and it’s clearly working.
Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh are both owned by Amazon, and you can get pretty much anything you want from these stores.
The choice between the two depends on your shopping preferences and to some extent your budget. But, nonetheless, both options are great places to shop for everyday groceries.
