Whole Foods is seeing an increase in customers from Walmart and other competitors like Trader Joe’s apparently due to Amazon taking over the high-end grocer.
After the $13.7billion purchase of Whole Foods by Amazon was completed in late August, Whole Foods slashed prices on some of its best-selling items.
Bananas got a 30-cent price cut, while avocados are now $1.50 less beginning August 28.
Other popular items that saw their prices slashed include organic brown eggs, almond butter, avocados, farm-raised salmon, rotisserie chickens, and more.
Thanks to the cuts, Whole Foods immediately experienced a 17 per cent increase in foot traffic year-over-year from August 28 to September 3, according a report by data analytics firm Thasos Group.
Whole Foods (file above) is seeing an increase in customers from Walmart and other competitors like Trader Joe’s apparently due to Amazon taking over the high-end grocer.
After the $13.7billion purchase of Whole Foods by Amazon was completed in late August, Whole Foods (file above) slashed prices on some of its best-selling items. Whole Foods immediately experienced a 17 per cent increase in foot traffic year-over-year
Of the increase in foot traffic, the new shoppers came mostly from Walmart, which account for 24 per cent of the new customers the week of August 28th.
Kroger customers accounted for 16 per cent and Costco shoppers for 15 per cent.
In addition, some of Whole Foods’ other competitors experienced defections during that time period.
Roughly 10 per cent of Trader Joe’s daily customers also shopped at Whole Foods during the first week of slashed prices at the grocer, that was once nicknamed ‘Whole Paycheck’ due to its pricey items.
Of the increase in foot traffic, the new shoppers came mostly from Walmart (file above), which account for 24 per cent of the new customers the week of August 28th
Eight per cent of Sprouts and three per cent of Target customers also went to Whole Foods that same week.
But traffic has somewhat subsided from the initial peak, however, it has elevated levels four per cent year-over-year as of the week ending September 16, the report states.
The customer profile for Whole Foods did not change. The report notes Whole Foods is stealing its competitors’ higher-income customers.
Kroger customers accounted for 16 per cent and Costco shoppers for 15 per cent
Thasos CEO Greg Skibisk told Barrons: They failed to attract the lower-income demographic.
‘And they didn’t get people to drive further than they normally would. Mostly, they stole the richest customers from their local competitors.”
For this report and others, Thasos uses real-time location data from mobile phones.