Grocery shoppers want low prices, one-stop shopping
NEW YORK — Donna Brown visited a Whole Foods for the first time in at least five months with one goal: see how much Amazon had cut prices. She did buy almond milk, yogurt and lunch meat, but doesn’t plan to quit her usual grocers, Wal-Mart and HEB, where she says she finds bigger selections and lower prices.
“I am a comparison shopper,” says Brown, a part-time administrative assistant in Austin, Texas.
Amazon made a splash right away as the new owner of Whole Foods, slashing prices Monday on baby kale, avocados and ground beef. That attracted some customers, but whether shoppers who’ve found cheaper alternatives will come back, or those who never visited will give Whole Foods a try, may help determine what kind of effect the blockbuster deal has on how people get their groceries.
Shoppers who talked with The Associated Press this week say what they want most of all is lower prices and one-stop shopping.
Stores are competing fiercely to attract them. Traditional supermarket chain Kroger stressed earlier this year that it does not plan to “lose on price.” Target is spending billions to remodel its stores and highlight its grocery section. Newer entrants from Europe, such as discounters Aldi and Lidl, are opening more U.S. stores. And Wal-Mart, the country’s largest grocer, is making it easier for customers to order groceries online and pick them up at the store.