Re:Amazon's Whole Foods deal under scrutiny
by IB885588 on Monday July 24, 2017 @04:06PM
(#14842167)
It's a near certainty that Amazon will lower prices at Whole Foods (by accepting lower margins and targeting faster growth and expansion), so if anything, it'll improve affordability.
[ Parent
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This is correct; and, it helps eliminate the issue of so-called "food deserts"[1], because geography/neighborhood will no longer be a barrier to higher-quality foods.
You need to afford a computer of some kind, afford the premium for food delivery, and have a debit card in order to have fresh food show up in your food desert. Most people for whom living in a food desert is a problem are impoverished, and therefore don't have a car, don't have a phone/tablet/computer, and often don't have a debit card, and certainly won't pay the delivery premium. So this is not in any way going to help those living in fresh food deserts.
Poor people have smartphones at a rate far higher than you would expect, partly because it's practically necessary these days, but also because you can get one on a plan from your carrier.
Delivery costs are a real issue, but I have a hope that we will get self-driving trucks in the near future and delivery prices will fall.
Re:Amazon's Whole Foods deal under scrutiny
by intopieces on Monday July 24, 2017 @10:35PM
(#14844650)
Amazon has a gift card system (Amazon Cash I think?) and as a full blown grocery store could accept EBT.
Doubtful.
The kinds of foods needed in those areas are fresh, cheap, high spoliage items aka unprofitable to touch unless in bulk.
Re:Amazon's Whole Foods deal under scrutiny
by kafkaesq on Monday July 24, 2017 @06:52PM
(#14843473)
by accepting lower margins
That is, by lower quality standards and working conditions.
If its own internal (non technical) sectors are to be taken as any indication.
Re:Amazon's Whole Foods deal under scrutiny
by IB885588 on Wednesday July 26, 2017 @05:56PM
(#14860726)
That's not how it works.
If Whole Foods is currently getting a 10% margin on a product and Amazon says we'll sell it for a 5% margin, nothing else has changed in the store or the product, but the price and margin are lower.