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Alaskan halibut provides a glimpse of Amazon’s strategy with Whole Foods

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Re: Alaskan halibut provides a glimpse of Amazon’s strategy with Whole Foods

#11

Post by felixgallo »

TheAdamist wrote: post #6
dpflan wrote: post #2

Seems like use the discounts to attract customers and convince them to join Amazon Prime. The Prime promotions and connection are everywhere in WF, and cashiers are always asking, even when the card-reader has a sticker(s) on it.

For an occasional shopper at WF who is just trying to pay and leave the store, whether or not you have prime the correct answer is "no" to get them to shut up so you can pay and leave.

Scanning your app at the scanners is pretty quick and painless, like any other rewards card, and for me at least seems to be worth it more often than not.

(disclaimer: I work for amazon, although not WF/retail)

Re: Alaskan halibut provides a glimpse of Amazon’s strategy with Whole Foods

#12

Post by ip26 »

EpicEng wrote: post #10
tptacek wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Durable, nationwide discounts on low-margin, premium products aren't a norm in the grocery industry. It would be similarly noteworthy if Kroger started selling dry-aged prime ribeyes at $8/#. (Less so if Costco did it, but Costco isn't a normal grocer).

Two minutes of searching tells me differently. Grocery stores have used loss leaders for decades to get people in the store. Why do you say the opposite?

Loss leaders aren't new, but usually they are either temporary, local, or on low-value products (think oranges, chips or soda instead of salmon)- or all three.

Re: Alaskan halibut provides a glimpse of Amazon’s strategy with Whole Foods

#13

Post by tptacek »

EpicEng wrote: post #10
tptacek wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Durable, nationwide discounts on low-margin, premium products aren't a norm in the grocery industry. It would be similarly noteworthy if Kroger started selling dry-aged prime ribeyes at $8/#. (Less so if Costco did it, but Costco isn't a normal grocer).

Two minutes of searching tells me differently. Grocery stores have used loss leaders for decades to get people in the store. Why do you say the opposite?

Even Costco's prime ribeye bulk packages don't turn out to be loss-leaders, despite widespread belief to the contrary. Here, the evidence suggests that Whole Foods halibut is in fact a nationwide loss leader.

Re: Alaskan halibut provides a glimpse of Amazon’s strategy with Whole Foods

#14

Post by silversconfused »

TheAdamist wrote: post #6
dpflan wrote: post #2

Seems like use the discounts to attract customers and convince them to join Amazon Prime. The Prime promotions and connection are everywhere in WF, and cashiers are always asking, even when the card-reader has a sticker(s) on it.

For an occasional shopper at WF who is just trying to pay and leave the store, whether or not you have prime the correct answer is "no" to get them to shut up so you can pay and leave.

"No and no thank you" certainly does speed up the checkout process.

Re: Alaskan halibut provides a glimpse of Amazon’s strategy with Whole Foods

#15

Post by sct202 »

tptacek wrote: post #5
mattferderer wrote: post #3

What is the difference between what they're doing & every other grocery store? I'm not sure I understand the difference after skimming through the article except that they have a reputation for more expensive, organic foods.

Durable, nationwide discounts on low-margin, premium products aren't a norm in the grocery industry. It would be similarly noteworthy if Kroger started selling dry-aged prime ribeyes at $8/#. (Less so if Costco did it, but Costco isn't a normal grocer).

Per the article this is a 40% discount for one week, which is unremarkable as far as grocery store sales go.

Re: Alaskan halibut provides a glimpse of Amazon’s strategy with Whole Foods

#16

Post by loeg »

panarky wrote: post #8
mattferderer wrote: post #3

What is the difference between what they're doing & every other grocery store? I'm not sure I understand the difference after skimming through the article except that they have a reputation for more expensive, organic foods.

MSC ensures sustainable fishing practices, and this is costly. https://fisheries.msc.org/en/fisheries/us-north-pacific-hali... After Amazon acquired Whole Foods, many speculated that they would lower prices by reducing quality. This is an example of lowering prices while maintaining standards.

> This is an example of lowering prices while maintaining standards.

Nah. It's an example of a "loss leader." The zero-margin price on some items isn't sustainable on all items and just serves to get people in the door. It's a shade of the same spectrum as "predatory pricing," which can be illegal but is not always.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_pricing

Re: Alaskan halibut provides a glimpse of Amazon’s strategy with Whole Foods

#17

Post by reaperducer »

ip26 wrote: post #12
EpicEng wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two minutes of searching tells me differently. Grocery stores have used loss leaders for decades to get people in the store. Why do you say the opposite?

Loss leaders aren't new, but usually they are either temporary, local, or on low-value products (think oranges, chips or soda instead of salmon)- or all three.

For the entire time I lived in Cincinnati, one of the local hypermarket chains sold gallons of milk for 99¢ as a loss leader.

Lots of different kinds of stores do it. It's not special because it's Amazon Foods.

Re: Alaskan halibut provides a glimpse of Amazon’s strategy with Whole Foods

#18

Post by reaperducer »

silversconfused wrote: post #14
TheAdamist wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For an occasional shopper at WF who is just trying to pay and leave the store, whether or not you have prime the correct answer is "no" to get them to shut up so you can pay and leave.

"No and no thank you" certainly does speed up the checkout process.

I've used "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't speak English" spoken in perfect English.

If you can't convince 'em, confuse 'em.

Re: Alaskan halibut provides a glimpse of Amazon’s strategy with Whole Foods

#19

Post by jorams »

ip26 wrote: post #12
EpicEng wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two minutes of searching tells me differently. Grocery stores have used loss leaders for decades to get people in the store. Why do you say the opposite?

Loss leaders aren't new, but usually they are either temporary, local, or on low-value products (think oranges, chips or soda instead of salmon)- or all three.

I thought the article was pretty clear that the loss leader price was only active for one week? That's very temporary.

Re: Alaskan halibut provides a glimpse of Amazon’s strategy with Whole Foods

#20

Post by blacksmith_tb »

TheAdamist wrote: post #6
dpflan wrote: post #2

Seems like use the discounts to attract customers and convince them to join Amazon Prime. The Prime promotions and connection are everywhere in WF, and cashiers are always asking, even when the card-reader has a sticker(s) on it.

For an occasional shopper at WF who is just trying to pay and leave the store, whether or not you have prime the correct answer is "no" to get them to shut up so you can pay and leave.

I was in line behind someone fumbling around trying to get the app set up and logged in, and I was going to say that in spite of having set it up myself, it rarely saved me more than a couple of percent on my total. I didn't, and due to some combination of stacking discounts I saved ~15% that day. But it's been 2-3% ever since...
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