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This morning, Whole Foods shoppers across the country woke up to lower prices, all thanks to the grocer’s new parent company, Amazon. Prices on nearly a dozen staple ingredients, from avocados and kale to rotisserie chicken and organic butter, have gone down by as much as 43 percent in some areas.
Per-pound prices on bananas, avocados, tilapia, organic ground beef, and organic butter — items that Whole Foods announced would be receiving price cuts — dropped significantly in some locations. In others, like Austin, Texas, where everyday prices were lower to begin with, shoppers are seeing more modest price drops.
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Eater sent editors in New York City, Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Austin (home of WF’s corporate headquarters) to Whole Foods locations to check prices as of August 25, the day after the company made its price-cut announcement, and today, August 28, the day the price changes were to take affect.
Prices in Austin dropped on average by 22 percent while prices in New York City fell 25 percent. Across the country, the price of organic, 85-percent-lean ground beef fell by $2 per pound; Whole Foods’ private-label almond butter is now a dollar less per jar; and organic apples fell to $1.99 per pound from as high as $3.49 per pound in some areas.
See precise before and after prices below:
Whole Foods’ Prices: New York City
| Item | Old Price | New Price | Percent decrease |
|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Old Price | New Price | Percent decrease |
| Organic Whole Trade bananas (per lb) | $0.99 | $0.69 | 30% |
| Organic avocados (each) | $2.49 | $1.49 | 40% |
| Organic large brown eggs | $4.29 | $3.99 | 7% |
| Organic responsibly-farmed tilapia (per lb) | $11.99 | $7.99 | 33% |
| Organic responsibly-farmed salmon (per lb) | $14.99 | 9.99 | 33% |
| Organic baby kale | $3.99 | $3.49 | 13% |
| Organic baby lettuce | $3.99 | $3.49 | 13% |
| 85% lean ground beef (per lb) | $6.99 | $4.99 | 29% |
| Creamy and crunchy almond butter | $7.99 | $6.99 | 13% |
| Organic Gala and Fuji apples (per lb) | $2.99 | $1.99 | 33% |
| Organic rotisserie chicken | $13.99 | $9.99 | 29% |
| 365 Everyday Value organic butter | $5.29 | $4.49 | 15% |
Whole Foods’ Prices: Bay Area
| Item | Old price | New price | Percent decrease |
|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Old price | New price | Percent decrease |
| Organic Whole Trade bananas (per lb) | $0.99 | $0.69 | 30% |
| Organic avocados (each) | $2.50 | $1.49 | 40% |
| Organic large brown eggs | $5.49 | $4.19 | 24% |
| Organic responsibly-farmed salmon (per lb) | $12.99 | 9.99 | 23% |
| Organic baby kale | $3.99 | $3.49 | 13% |
| Organic baby lettuce | $3.99 | $3.49 | 13% |
| 85% lean ground beef (per lb) | $6.99 | $4.99 | 29% |
| Creamy and crunchy almond butter | $7.99 | $6.99 | 13% |
| Organic Gala and Fuji apples (per lb) | $2.49 | $1.99 | 20% |
| Organic rotisserie chicken | $14.99 | $9.99 | 33% |
Whole Foods’ Prices: Chicago
| Item | Old price | New price | Percent decrease |
|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Old price | New price | Percent decrease |
| Organic Whole Trade bananas (per lb) | $0.77 | $0.69 | 10% |
| Organic avocados (each) | $2.50 | $1.99 | 20% |
| Organic large brown eggs | $4.39 | $3.99 | 9% |
| Organic responsibly-farmed tilapia (per lb) | $10.99 | $7.99 | 27% |
| Organic responsibly-farmed salmon (per lb) | $13.99 | $9.99 | 29% |
| 85% lean ground beef (per lb) | $6.99 | $4.99 | 29% |
| Creamy and crunchy almond butter | $7.99 | $6.99 | 13% |
| Organic Gala and Fuji apples (per lb) | $2.49 | $1.99 | 20% |
| Organic rotisserie chicken | $14.00 | $9.99 | 29% |
| 365 Everyday Value organic butter | $4.99 | $4.49 | 10% |
Whole Foods’ Prices: Austin, Texas
| Item | Old price | New price | Percent decrease |
|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Old price | New price | Percent decrease |
| Organic Whole Trade bananas (per lb) | $0.89 | $0.69 | 22% |
| Organic avocados (each) | $1.67 | $1.49 | 11% |
| Organic large brown eggs | $4.19 | $3.99 | 5% |
| Organic responsibly-farmed tilapia (per lb) | $11.99 | $7.99 | 33% |
| Organic baby kale | $3.99 | $2.99 | 25% |
| Organic baby lettuce | $3.99 | $2.99 | 25% |
| 85% lean ground beef (per lb) | $9.99 | $6.99 | 30% |
| Creamy and crunchy almond butter | $7.99 | $6.99 | 13% |
| Organic Gala apples (per lb) | $3.29 | $1.99 | 40% |
| Organic Fuji apples (per lb) | $3.29 | $1.99 | 40% |
| Organic rotisserie chicken | $9.99 | $7.99 | 20% |
| 365 Everyday Value organic butter | $4.99 | $4.99 | 0% |
Whole Foods and Amazon announced the price cuts late last week. Other changes have come to some Whole Foods stores: Shoppers may be able to purchase Amazon’s Echo device at some locations, as Recode reports, and signs throughout the store herald the new company ownership.
As the companies announced last week, more changes are to come, including in-store incentives for Amazon’s Prime customers.
