Whole Foods Marks 1st Expansion of Prime Now Click-and-Collect

Whole Foods Market has begun expanding its click-and-collect footprint for grocery orders through its Prime Now service, and is continuing expansion of its delivery footprint in six states.

For pickup, Prime members in Ft. Worth, Texas; Kennesaw, Ga.; Richmond, Va.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Virginia Beach, Va., can now shop thousands of bestselling items – including fresh produce, meat, seafood and everyday staples, among them locally sourced items, sold at Whole Foods stores. To order, they may use the Prime Now app and choose the pickup option at checkout.

Shoppers may choose free pickup in as little as an hour on orders of $35 or more, or in $30 minutes for $4.99. Upon arrival at a Whole Foods store, customers park in a designated pickup spot, and a Prime Now shopper will place groceries in their car within minutes.

For delivery, Prime members in Ann Arbor and Detroit, Mich.; Milwaukee and Madison, Wis.; Omaha, Neb.; Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa, Fla.; St. Louis; and Tulsa, Okla. – as well as additional areas of New York and Seattle – can shop thousands of bestselling items for delivery in as little as an hour to their doorsteps. Shoppers may choose from the same selection of items available for pickup, for delivery in as little as an hour.

"Prime Now delivery continues to be a hit with our customers, and we’re excited to introduce the service in 10 new cities, plus more neighborhoods in New York and Seattle," said Christina Minardi, Whole Foods' EVP of operations. "And for our customers in Ft. Worth, Kennesaw and Richmond, we’re thrilled to also offer the option of grocery pickup. It’s just another way we’re making it even easier for more customers to enjoy Whole Foods Market’s healthy and organic food."

Pickup and delivery from Whole Foods are available daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. In addition to ordering via the Prime Now mobile app, shoppers may order by voice using devices enabled with Amazon's Alexa voice-assistant technology: members can add items to their cart by saying, “Alexa, add eggs to my Whole Foods cart,” and when ready to check out, they can just say, “Alexa, check out my Whole Foods cart,” and then choose "pickup" or "delivery" on the Prime Now app.

Amazon introduced Prime Now grocery delivery from Whole Foods stores in February and since then has been expanding the service, which now reaches 48 cities. Earlier this month, it arrived in the Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C.; Las Vegas; Memphis and Nashville, Tenn.; New Orleans; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; Tucson, Ariz.; and Seattle areas, as well as more neighborhoods in New York, Los Angeles and the Dallas/Fort Worth region. Further expansion is planned throughout the rest of the year.

The launch of Prime Now click-and-collect came in August, beginning with service in Sacramento and Virginia Beach.

Austin, Texas-based natural and organic grocer Whole Foods operates more than 470 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Under the name of its Seattle-based parent, Amazon, the grocer is No. 8 on Progressive Grocer's Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.