Austin is one of four cities where Amazon has begun offering a much wider variety of Whole Foods groceries, alcohol and other goodies.
The service, available at no additional charge for Amazon Prime members who pay $99 a year, will let you select from thousands of items at local Whole Foods stores and have them delivered within two hours with no delivery charges. Prime members can pay $7.99 to get the goods within an hour. The service is available 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Their selection includes everything from fresh octopus and sea bass from the seafood section to meat, organic produce, bakery items, dozens of beers (although I didn't find any wine) and many of Whole Foods prepared meals.
Whole Foods workers assemble the grocery packages, and then Amazon contractors will deliver them. It's the latest integration since Amazon acquired Whole Foods for $13.7 billion last summer.
“We're happy to bring our customers the convenience of free two-hour delivery through Prime Now and access to thousands of natural and organic groceries and locally sourced favorites,” John Mackey, Whole Foods Market co-founder and CEO, said in a news release. “Together, we have already lowered prices on many items, and this offering makes Prime customers’ lives even easier.”
The service is also available in Dallas, Cincinnati and Virginia Beach.
Customers in Austin have already been able to get Whole Foods groceries delivered by Instacart, although it carries a charge of its own. Meanwhile, startups like Favor can also deliver groceries from just about any store. And H-E-B, which also partners with Instacart in Austin and other markets, has launched its own service that lets you pick up all your groceries curbside.
