Survey finds Walmart still cheaper than Whole Foods

Jeff Bezos will have to trade in his potato peeler for a meat cleaver if he wants to fight a price war with Walmart, his biggest grocery competitor.

Despite price reductions on kale, bananas and more after Amazon.com Inc. officially took control of Whole Foods this week, the grocer has long touted the superior quality of its food and retains an upscale vibe. So for the time being, shoppers are likely to find better deals elsewhere, including at industry giants Walmart and Kroger. In a survey of 18 items, Bloomberg found Whole Foods was 50 percent more pricey on average than Walmart.

While Amazon is expected to bring down prices as it tries to move beyond Whole Foods’ rarefied reputation, said Mikey Vu, a grocery expert at Bain & Co., so far the reductions have been more about generating buzz.

“Unless they slash prices, they’re not going to dramatically expand the income band of customers they go after,” Vu said. “It was a bold statement on the first day, but it wasn’t that many items that were moved.”

The Bloomberg price survey was conducted on Tuesday at Whole Foods and Walmart locations in Bellevue, Wash. Some items — canned tomatoes, black beans and corn, for instance — compared house brands. Walmart had lower prices for brands carried by both retailers, including Florida Natural orange juice, Kind snack bars, Nature’s Own whole wheat bread and Blue Diamond almond milk. Kettle Sea Salt chips were the one exception, costing $2.69 at Whole Foods compared with $2.98 at Walmart.

The fruit, vegetables and canned goods were cheaper at Walmart, with the exception of bananas, which cost 49 cents per pound at Whole Foods compared with 56 cents per pound at Walmart. The biggest price difference was for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which cost $1.99 per pound at Walmart and $5.19 per pound at Whole Foods.

Whole Foods sells only natural products that are fully compliant with animal-welfare standards. while Walmart sells a range of groceries that don’t all meet Whole Foods’ lofty standards. Still, it could be tough to persuade costconscious shoppers to pay $1.99 for a can of Whole Foods corn that they can get at Walmart for 68 cents.