Amazon technology is already invading store shelves at Whole Foods, the healthy foods grocery store that it acquired in a $13.7 billion deal that closed Monday. Customers visiting some locations might see prominent displays of Amazon devices like the Echo smart speaker—with jeu de mots exclamations like ‘farm fresh’ and ‘pick of the season’—intermingled with displays of organic peaches and other fresh items.
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A cylindrical-looking speaker that doubles as a smart home hub, Echo can be used to play music and control various connected devices such as thermostats and light bulbs through voice commands given to the virtual personal assistant Alexa. Amazon also makes a smaller speaker-less smart hub called Echo Dot, as well as other devices in the ever-growing Echo product line.
Amazon has wasted little time making changes to Whole Foods. The company said it would lower prices on a wide selection of food items beginning Monday—and it has already delivered. Amazon has has said it plans to offer even steeper discounts to members of its Prime service, which gives customers free shipping, free video streaming to a selection of movies and TV shows, and other benefits.
The company also plans to push more Whole Foods items—specifically the grocer’s generic 365 brands as well as its store branded pet foods Whole Paws and seafood Whole Catch—onto Amazon.com, AmazonFresh, Prime Pantry, and Prime Now.
