Whole Foods sees a whole lot of traffic after price cuts

Whole Foods’ foot traffic jumped 25% in the first two days after Amazon acquired it, but whether the combination of lower prices on select food staples and curiosity will continue to drive shoppers there remains a huge question.

Traffic was up nationally Aug. 28-29, compared to the previous Monday and Tuesday, according to Foursquare, which collects and analyzes location data.

Amazon’s Whole Foods price cuts took effect on Aug 28, the day the $13.7 billion deal closed. Among the discounted items were Whole Trade bananas, down

38% from 79 cents to 49 cents; organic baby kale, cut 12% from

$3.99 for a 5-ounce package to

$3.49; and “responsibly-farmed” tilapia, reduced 33% from $11.99 to $7.99.

Amazon declined to comment on sales trends on those two days, so retail experts can’t analyze whether the spike in the number of shoppers was curious individ-

It’s unclear whether the 25% spike in foot traffic was curious people taking a peek, people cherry-picking the discounted items or consumers filling their baskets.

uals coming to take a peek, people cherry-picking the discounted items or consumers filling their baskets with lots of food.

“It’s pretty rare that someone will visit the store and not make a purchase. I can’t imagine you had a lot of foot traffic that didn’t add some incremental value,” said Bob Hetu, research director for retail at research and consulting firm Gartner.

He expects the number of shoppers to level out a bit. Whole Foods, once derided as Whole Paycheck for its high prices, could appeal to a fresh group of costconscious consumers.

“Probably retailers like Kroger have the most to be concerned about here, because they were making their mark as being a provider of organics at more accept- able prices than Whole Foods. Having lost some of that initiative now, they certainly have something to fear,” Hetu said.

Amazon-Whole Foods is the fifth-largest grocery retailer in the country, according to analysts at Cowen. Walmart is No. 1 followed by Kroger, Costco and Albertsons.

Cooper Smith, director of Amazon research for the research and advisory firm L2, wasn’t surprised that customers had flocked to Whole Foods.

“Price is still the No. 1 factor for consumers,” he said.