Amazon is rolling out free two-hour delivery of Whole Foods products to San Francisco and Atlanta, bringing the total number of cities where grocery delivery is available to six. The two new markets join Austin, Cincinnati, Dallas and Virginia Beach as the cities where on-demand grocery delivery is now available, and makes it clear that Amazon views this as more than just a trial project.
The deliveries are done as part of Amazon’s Prime Now on-demand delivery service. That service offers delivery of goods from Amazon, local stores, and local restaurants in dozens of cities across the US already. All six cities that have on-demand Whole Foods delivery also have some kind of existing Prime Now delivery service, so it’s a reasonably worthwhile bet that any city with Whole Foods and Prime Now will see grocery delivery rolled out in the near future.
The service offers free delivery on any order over $35 for Prime members, with a $7.99 delivery fee available for orders under that. Products available include fresh produce, meat and seafood, dairy, bakery items, and other everyday groceries. Alcohol is available in San Francisco, although state regulations prevent alcohol from being delivered in Atlanta. The service operates on Whole Foods’ opening hours, generally 8AM to 10PM.
Amazon hasn’t lost any time taking advantage of its Whole Foods acquisition to start pushing its new grocery chain on existing Amazon customers. Prime members now get better discounts when shopping at Whole Foods, and anyone signed up for the Amazon Rewards credit card also gets additional rewards for shopping at Whole Foods. Amazon also oversaw a series of price cuts to basic items at Whole Foods, designed to lose the store’s reputation for only selling overpriced produce to well-heeled buyers.
