Amazon has destroyed Whole Foods: Yes or No?

Wegman's is better.

Whole foods has always sucked. Always.

If you live in Michigan or Illinois, try Plum Market. Still pretty upscale, lots of organics, local stuff too, and you can spend your paycheck there too.

The meat selection at my local store is about half what it used to be.

[QUOTE]Whole foods has always sucked. Always

Agree, but now it's ten times worse. I only go there because it's right by my house.

I don't think it's changed one iota.

Every year or so Whole Foods 'lowers' prices...then slowly raises them again. Wash, rinse, repeat. This has been happening for years. It always gets them press because it hasn't been able to shake off the "whole paycheck" reputation. It doesn't matter though. Whole Foods has been on hard times for a while now. Once regular supermarkets and stores started shifting to healthier foods (and cheaper), WF lost it's edge. They haven't been able to separate themselves from the competition. Amazon seems to be trying but nothing special has happened. Their commercials are absolutely terrible also. FYI, WF used to NEVER spend a penny on promotion and they prided themselves in that. Once they started doing radio & TV commercials a few years ago it was obvious there were problems.

Whole Foods destroyed itself by overpriced organic fare you can find 40% cheaper in local organic shops.

Oh and maybe don’t charge 10 dollars for cut up fruit. That was probably the end of that.

I liked Fresh Fields, then Whole Foods bought it.

I’ve never feel like I’m good enough to go into that store. My family roots are working class, and I get a sense of my unworthiness from the other shoppers and, especially, the cheese counter clerks in those horrible stores.

The got rid of the all the 365 stuff didn't they? That was the only reason to go there.

R11 you're BETTER than they are!

It destroyed itself when the NYC stores were found to be overcharging for weighed items.

People were staring at OP who normally would have been intimidated. How gauche!

[quote]They got rid of the all the 365 stuff didn't they?

Did they really?

Prime Now shows 1,773 results for "365."

Use AmazonFresh, OP. That way you don't need to go to WF. Mostly.

Is AmazonFresh like PrimeNow, except you don't have to be a Prime member?

Weren't they trying to sell some hip new creation called the chopped cheese sandwich or something a few years ago? Lol and it got tons of bad press...talk about desperation mixed with a major lack of talent at the top.

I used to like the hot food bar because they used to rotate what they offered.

Now it's the same stuff over & over.

Also, the quality of their seafood has gone down.

[QUOte]I used to like the hot food bar because they used to rotate what they offered.

Now it's all Indian food, all the time.

Plus, at my (ex-)WFM, they've devoted half the former eating space to preparing delivery orders, and the delivery order people are masters at giving dirty looks if they think you're taking too long to eat. I just stopped going. Fuck WFM.

I haven't noticed any change at my local WF, except for the addition of Amazon lockers near the entrance. WF still sells the 365 brand. The store has lots of choices for vegetarians/vegans. That's the main reason I shop there compared to other stores within a 2-mile radius of me. If I need Pepsi and Lays potato chips and paper goods (foil, trash bags, ziplock bags), then I'll go to Harris Teeter or Safeway instead.

Oh, the only other change I've noticed is that when I check out, the cashier asks me if I'm an Amazon prime member. I am, but I always say no. I'm afraid if they pull up my account, it will show my recent purchases on Amazon.com, and some of them are a little embarrassing.

They've added parking spaces in the front of my WHs for Prime Customers picking up packages. And something has happened to the seafood. Maybe it's the season, but the selection seems off and not as varied.

[QUOTE]Wegman's is better.

Wegmans is run by people who actually know the grocery business. They eat, sleep and breathe it,

[quote] I'm an Amazon prime member. I am, but I always say no.

You're doing yourself a huge disservice, you could be saving a bunch of money.

[quote]I'm afraid if they pull up my account, it will show my recent purchases on Amazon.com, and some of them are a little embarrassing.

Because they are???

"State School".

Umm. Ok,

The meat and seafood section of the midtown NY WF always smelled rancid. I can't imagine it could get any worse now that Amazon has it.

AmazonFresh is $15/month and they ship any order of fresh groceries "free" if you buy over $35 worth. It's great. Not sure if it's only Prime members who can get it. They have Whole Foods items.

R28 is quickly checking the mirror to make sure his Michigan State isn't showing.

I order through PrimeNow. What's the problem, people? They have competitive pricing in line with Trader Joe's and they deliver to your door for free with a min order of $35.00. Tip the driver (because you should) and all is right with the world.

So fucking pretentious. Why does it survive and others like Harris Teeter go under?

If I have to go there, I always go first thing in the morning to avoid the snowflakes and swim team moms with their aggressive cart crashing and wailing crotch fruit

How does Sprouts compare to Whole Foods?

My funniest food bar WTF was a bin of cucumber chunks mixed with red grapes, the cucumbers roughly chopped, grapes thrown in.

I stopped shopping there in 2015 after the scale scandal, but resumed after Amazon bought it. The one in my neighborhood is on the decline. Most aisles seem picked-over. They are constantly out of stock of items that can easily be found elsewhere. Too few registers open, especially during busy times. Employees who are no longer helpful and knowledgeable, but inept and lazy.

Amazon must be running a crazy inventory system that keeps only just enough of anything on the shelf. The other day, my local WF had precisely the number of packs of whole wheat English muffins that I needed: 3. I pity the shopper who tried to buy them 5 minutes after I did.

R23 - you can add the store app on your phone and zap it yourself at checkout.

I like that they sell cubed lamb, as well as being willing to cut chicken into smaller pieces for you.

My local store is in the middle of Tech Central Seattle - yuppies, hipsters and South Asians. Usually quite busy.

There is more leggings-related camel toe at my WF than in all of Somalia.

Too many store brand items, and I’ve found both outdated food and food marked as “made” on a date still in the future.

I can't believe human beings have gotten so lazy that they can't even be bothered to go get their own food once a week. I can understand here and there a few things but as a lifestyle, it's bizarre.

[R38] Why do you need so many WW English Muffins? Is that all you eat?

R42 lives in the bush and prays for an anemic antelope to crawl past his makeshift hut.

R43: 18 English muffins amounr to 9 breakfasts. Not exactly a CostCo-style bulk buy.

R44 You thought of that all by yourself, didn't you? You deserve a cookie.

Anywho, I personally don't see the appeal in allowing a stranger to pick out my produce, dairy or meat. No one is THAT busy, other than drama queens, to go food shopping. Priorities. I know people enjoy throwing extra $ away though

They claimed to have lowered prices on hundreds of items. I haven't noticed anything cheaper.

[quote]Priorities. I know people enjoy throwing extra $ away though

And then bitch about how little money they have and how everyone before them had it better.

They have reduced the selections and the staff doesn't seem too happy anymore.

Fresh Market is so much better.

Lol exactly r48. There's also an irony in shopping from your phone on your couch at Whole Foods. Seems more like a Walmart type thing to do but O digress. I'm personally more of a Wegman's/Trader Joe's type of person. A lot of their brand items have some excellent prices.

In Florida even Publix is better than Whole Foods.

...just asking for a frau friend of mine

[quote]How does Sprouts compare to Whole Foods?

Sprouts seems to be a smaller less expensive, less pretentious version of WF, but without a lot of the service departments, like a bakery or a full service deli. They often have terrific sales on produce, meat, and bulk foods. A couple of times a year they have buy one-get one free sales on a lot of items -- a good time to stock up on non-perishables.

Whole Foods was a lot better when it was known as Wild Oats. Once Whole Foods took over, prices went up and quality went down. Now that Amazon has taken over, it has gone totally off the rails.

R38, there have been articles about a disastrous new inventory system. I think it was planned before Amazon.

"Oh and maybe don’t charge 10 dollars for cut up fruit."

Or $3.00 for a single doughnut. How precious.

I can get a dozen delicious, freshly baked donuts at a local shop for $6.00.

Love WF. Love AmazonFresh even more.

[QUOTE]They have reduced the selections and the staff doesn't seem too happy anymore.

Totally agree about the staff's attitude. Guess it's what happens when you work for Master Jeff.

[QUOTE]No one is THAT busy, other than drama queens, to go food shopping.

Not so long ago laziness was considered a character flaw Now it seems it's celebrated by assholes.

The only WF I've shopped in that still seems to not have had any degradation in selection or service is the Manhattan flagship store near the WTC. All the others have suffered.

The WFs in my area (suburban Philadelphia) still have better meats, dairy, cheese and especially bakery sections even than Wegman's, although Weg's is hard to beat. I agree that the inventory is worse and the sales people now are just ordinary supermarket clerks. They used to be less crunchy versions of Trader Joe's clerks - people who knew the stock and really wanted to help customers find what they wanted. No more.

Prices, the other hand ... so what? It's never been a cheap store. I think focusing on supposedly lower prices is a huge mistake. If I want lower prices, I'll go to WalMart. They should instead have gone for even more upscale products and emphasized the snob appeal. Shopping at WF used to be an affordable luxury, but now it just feels ordinary.

Locally, I think they've really been hit hard by Wegman's expansion. While WF is better in some ways, and Wegman's is not the cheapest local supermarket, at Weg's you get to do your entire shopping in one place, unlike WF.

"Not so long ago laziness was considered a character flaw Now it seems it's celebrated by assholes."

They're busy being insta-hos and posting bullshit on Facebook.

The best thing about Wegman's is that it does have every thing and (most stuff) at different price points.

I'll take that cookie R46, delivered to me in a 2: 00-hour window of my choosing, carefully placed at my door in a nicely packed container.

I just love all of the cheap assholes judging people who use a grocery delivery service. Do they refuse to deliver to your rented storage space, R46 et al?

R64, you don't need that cookie. Your lazy ass is already too fat.

OP, read R61 and learn. R61 worked snob appeal, affordable luxury and ordinary supermarket clerks in his post.

Thie $6 asparagus water story made the rounds a couple of years ago. They discontinued the product, which was a shame. I found it refreshing and healthful, and would pick up a couple of bottles evertime I shopped there. A sublime infusion.

I'll give you my recipe, r67.

I don't even go to the grocery store any more. The Kum and Go usually has whatever I need. I don't want to walk all over, when I just need Diet Coke and cookies. I don't need a fucking banana.

To me Whole Foods is the Neimen Marcus of grocery stores. Their prices are too high, and the quality is not much better than other stores.But, the store is a place where rich people can shop and feel that they are rich, and non-rich people can shop there and pretend that they are rich. You are buying into a name and experience, not the products.

Wegman's truly does have everything you need. Quality meat, seafood, combined with a nice mix of specialty/organic and store brand, lower priced items. I don't eat prepared foods, but their selection seems vast in comparison to WF.

Wegman's also has digital coupons that load right onto your membership card from the app. There are usually some really good ones. Some of their bulk prices with the coupons end up being better than Costco.

I like Wegman's but the should be ashamed of themselves at some of their prices. $4 for a pre-sliced piece of chocolate cake?

One of the reasons I didn't mind paying extra at WF is because the employees were said the be treated very well. A living wage, full health benefits, etc. Is that still the case? Anyone know?

Not everyone has a Wegman's, Wegman's queens.

Erewhon is the Neiman Marcus of grocery stores. And they have a much better selection than Whole Foods. They're putting up a Sprout's in West Hollywood near me, and I'm glad for the alternative to Trader Joe's.

I should add that Erewhon was the originator of the $20 smoothie:

R75 A Sprout's opened near me last year, I've been one time. The prices were horrible. The quality was no where near Trader Joe's, or even Kroger. And the store looks like crap.

[QUOTE]I like Wegman's but the should be ashamed of themselves at some of their prices. $4 for a pre-sliced piece of chocolate cake?

If you don’t like it then don’t buy it. Get the whole one or bake your own.

Their grocery prices are low and they make up for it in the bakery, which one must admit has a higher quality selection of goods than, say, Giant with its artificial tasting and looking cakes.

Stew Leonard's FTW.

[QUOTE]One of the reasons I didn't mind paying extra at WF is because the employees were said the be treated very well. A living wage, full health benefits, etc. Is that still the case? Anyone know?

They work for Amazon now and that's like working in a Chinese sweat shop.

Sprouts is very expensive. It's really no different from Whole Foods.

I wouldnt know, I cant afford to shop at whole foods anymore

R67, have you tried cucumber water? Very refreshing. I don't know if they sell it at Whole Foods, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Kroger still rules if you live in the South.

Amazon destroys everything, so yes.

Can't wait for Amazon to crash and burn.

[quote] And I swear the customers look a little "state school" if you know what I mean

$1000 says OP went to some small unknown Lutheran college in Flyoverstan, but he and his parents were quite proud that he went there and not Southwest North Dakota State

TBH, I don't notice a difference post-Amazon.

It's still overpriced and as others have noted, where WF was once the only place you could find most of the brands they sell, that sort of organic/natural food is now available everywhere.

The main reason I don't like to shop there though is that their staff are generally surly and unhelpful. Lots of "what kind of apples are those?" type questions in the checkout line.

I find myself pretty much exclusively shopping at Trader Joe's because their staff, all of whom seem like they are either grad students, members of an indie band or both, are super helpful, cheerful and on top of things.

Plus TJ's lines move faster.

[quote] "State School". Umm. Ok,

Apparently there are girls "laying out" (tanning) in from of the store tanning and drunken frat boys aggressively stumbling around the aisles.

R89 FTW

I find their staff friendly.

R75, where is be the Sprouts going up?

I bet Sprouts will be acquired soon. Walmart maybe. There's buzz on CNBC and the like.

"Everything is worse now. Everything sucks."

People who have to buy their own groceries, actually bitching about their own lives.

R92, there’s a Sprouts at La Brea and Willoughby that’s been open a year or so. Not sure if there’s another opening further west in WeHo

r92, I believe it's going to be across from the Shake Shack on Santa Monica.

r81 You're nuts. Do you think you can find prices like these at Whole Foods? Or even at a mainstream market? 98 cent pineapple? 77 cent blackberries? 16/20 shrimp for $7/lb.?