Amazon is beefing up the delivery service for Whole Foods.
The Seattle-based corporation (AMZN) has expanded the service to 10 additional cities and broadened it in two existing metro areas. That brings the total number of cities where Whole Foods delivers to 48.
Shoppers in Milwaukee, Omaha, Detroit, Jacksonville, Madison, Orlando, St. Louis, Ann Arbor, Tampa, and Tulsa can now have their organic fruits and vegetables (and other items) delivered to their doorstep in as little as one hour via Amazon’s Prime Now service. Additionally, more areas in New York and Seattle are now being serviced.
Whole Foods customers in Ft. Worth, Kennesaw, Richmond, Sacramento, and Virginia Beach have a separate option, as Whole Foods has expanded its grocery pickup service. Amazon Prime members who place orders of $35 or more can pick up their food at the store within one hour for free (or pay $4.99 to retrieve orders in 30 minutes. That service, which mimics an offering of traditional grocery stores, was launched in August.
With the services, Amazon is attempting to influence the future of groceries, making them more convenient for shoppers. Home delivery has been challenging before due to the historically low margins of grocery chains.
Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion.