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Honored Contributor
Posts: 39,554
Registered: ‎08-23-2010

Re: Amazon Is About to Transform How You Buy Groceries

This doesn't appeal to me ... AT ALL.    

 

I enjoy reading labels, picking out my own produce and meat, and comparing different products.

 

I guess you can call me a "hands on consumer" ....  Getting the right products is much more important than getting the wrong products ... quickly.   

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,458
Registered: ‎06-10-2015

Re: Amazon Is About to Transform How You Buy Groceries

As the article says, "buying Whole Foods doesn't help Amazon reach the rural areas where Walmart rules." Whole Foods is just too expensive for many in rural areas.

 

I also have a problem with the systematic, long-term cheating by Whole Foods--actually, it's stealing--by short-weighting their pre-packaged foods. They've been caught doing this repeatedly. If they're going to rip you off that blatantly, why do business with them?

 

Other stores, including Walmart, are improving their so-called organic foods sections, and in the big supermarkets in my areas, those areas in their produce sections are also being expanded. I wouldn't count any of them out.

 

I think for people in rural and even suburban areas, their supermarkets and local food shops, Walmart, farmers markets, CSAs, Aldi, and other sources are going to be more attractive, especially if those people are older. The Amazon Fresh/Peapod type of delivery service will probably appeal to millennials and people with more disposal income.

 

One thing I don't think anyone's mentioned is that in some towns, the grocery store is a meeting place, either planned or by chance. I've run into people I haven't seen in years in my local supermarket and had a good long chinwag right there in frozen foods. I used to meet a friend for coffee in the fake Starbucks they stuck in the beer section of another store. For some people who live alone, that lingering chat with the cashier is the only human contact they'll have all day.

 

Online sources solve some problems for some people, but they'll never become a piece of the social fabric of a community.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,453
Registered: ‎02-02-2015

Re: Amazon Is About to Transform How You Buy Groceries

Not my cup of tea, but some folks might like the convenience.  I want to be able to pick up an item last minute if I'm cooking and need something, or be able to run to the pharmacy.

 

I haven't been in Whole Foods in a while; the quality and cost in the meat department was a turn off for me.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 21,840
Registered: ‎10-03-2011

Re: Amazon Is About to Transform How You Buy Groceries

It seems everything old is new again.  As a kid, this is the way my mom did the grocery shopping for years and years.  We had a number of mom and pop corner grocery stores in the area.  My mom worked on her list throughout the week, but finalized it on Friday or Saturday morning.  On Saturday morning she'd call the store, read the list off to someone, and everything was delivered to our house before noon.  This was a way of life for us until we moved out of the city.