Dive Brief:
- Amazon announced Tuesday a new grocery subscription available to Prime members and customers using EBT.
- The subscription, which costs $9.99 per month for Prime members and $4.99 per month for non-Prime members with an EBT card, provides free grocery delivery on orders over $35 across Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market and grocery retailers on Amazon.com such as Cardenas Markets and Save Mart.
- The subscription adds to the string of changes Amazon is making to its grocery offerings as it looks to sharpen its presence as a grocer as well as bolster its Prime membership.
Dive Insight:
Amazon is positioning its new grocery subscription as a “low, monthly fee” that “pays for itself” after one delivery per month.
Along with Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh, the free delivery on orders over $35 also applies to retailers including Cardenas Markets, Save Mart, Bartell Drugs, Rite Aid, Pet Food Express and Mission Wine & Spirits.
The new subscription also unlocks free one-hour delivery windows where it’s available, free 30-minute pickup and priority access to recurring time slots for a weekly grocery order. Earlier this year, Amazon Fresh launched the Recurring Reservations feature, which allows customers to slot pickup or delivery orders up to a week in advance.
The grocery subscription is available in more than 3,500 cities and towns across the U.S. Amazon said it tested the offering with Prime members in Columbus, Ohio; Denver; and Sacramento, California, in late 2023.
“Our goal is to build a best-in-class grocery shopping experience—whether shopping in-store or online—where Amazon is the first choice for selection, value, and convenience,” Tony Hoggett, senior vice president of worldwide grocery stores at Amazon, said in an emailed statement.
“We have many different customers with many different needs, and we want to save them time and money every time they shop for groceries.”
The new subscription builds on existing Prime benefits, which include member-only deals at Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh. For people receiving government assistance, including SNAP and Medicaid, Amazon offers Prime for about half the price.
Amazon has made several moves recently to tweak its grocery offerings, including removing Just Walk Out from its stateside Amazon Fresh stores — and two Whole Foods locations that have the technology — and ramping up smart carts in its grocery locations. Earlier this month, the e-tailer announced it has started offering its Dash Cart to other grocers. In the fall, Amazon linked with Weis Markets for its first loyalty program integration on its platform.
Grocery delivery has been one area in particular that Amazon has grappled with recently. In January 2023, Amazon Fresh raised its threshold for free delivery to $150 but then 10 months later lowered that minimum to $100. A month later, Amazon said it started offering grocery delivery and free pickup to non-Prime members in all markets where its Amazon Fresh stores and online services operate, with plans to expand grocery delivery and free pickup from Whole Foods to shoppers who aren’t Prime members.
