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Amazon appears to be cutting prices at Whole Foods (again)

By MixDex Article may include affiliate links

Amazon appears to be cutting prices at Whole Foods Market again.

According to data published by Morgan Stanley and reported by CNBC, prices were down 2.5% on average compared to last year.

That said, Whole Food instituted a broader 3% increase in prices during the first three months of 2019.

However, prices were raised on products earlier in 2019 due to supplier demands.

Amazon paid $13.7 billion for Whole Foods in 2017 and began cutting prices shortly after the deal closed.

Since the acquisition, Amazon has been attempting to position Whole Foods as a more affordable premium grocer.

Morgan Stanley noted that, before the Amazon purchase, Whole Foods was about 20% higher than regional conventional grocery stores — but that number has shrunk to just 12 to 13%.

Overall, Amazon’s physical stores segment, which is primarily made up of its Whole Foods business, saw flat revenue growth of $4.3 billion.

If Amazon had included in-app purchases and pick up orders, which were grouped with its online segment, it would have been up about 5%.

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