> That's not Amazon's MO,

Actually Amazon isn't always the lowest price or the best selection; their #1 aim is to try to be the most convenient (where cost is an important, but not exclusive, factor in "convenience"). In fact they differentiate prices to different consumers and ramp up prices in some popular items when they think they can increase margin. (Not that there's anything necessarily nefarious about that). They do try to make it hard to compare prices, which other retailers do as well.

> [n]or goal with the Whole Foods purchase.

We don't know Amazon's goal with the purchase. There can be several, possibly even competing ones (launch a couple, see what fly). For example they have Echo in the store: it can be just a way to switch people to online ordering and/or a way to see if people buy non-food products through this real estate they already purchased (this is how Fry's transitioned from a grocery store to an electronics store in California) and/or a way to link in-shop shoppers to their online history and/or something we don't even know about -- or they haven't thought of yet.

They may dominate lots of durable goods categories in terms of online sales. They don't dominate many when sales from all channels are taken into consideration. I would be careful using generalities like you just used.

Completely agree with this. I'd also add that amazon doesn't just seek to dominate an industry but also to make it difficult for future competitors to enter the space in the first place. Raising prices could in theory create a gap for a future/current competitor to step in.

Making money is their MO. It comes down to simple supply and demand, and it makes prefect sense to raise their prices slowly overtime.

While that makes sense in a generic, economic theory, this isn't how Amazon has operated. Ever. So I don't see why you're picking this hill to die on.

My money is on Amazon doing what they have always done: compete with wide selections and the cheapest pricing possible while using Whole Foods to bring their Fresh delivery service to far more markets at a higher efficiency.

I agree with this. It's gotten to the point that when I need something I buy it from Amazon, with the only exception being food. And that last part might change.

I'm already buying everything I need from Amazon other than food... and since Amazon Fresh I've been buying food once per month, sometimes twice per month, as a Friday morning "no shopping trip for this weekend" move - in fact I spend less than I would have at Harris Teeter based on past experience.

I would have done this with Peapod etc but their website was lacking in 1) choices (Amazon will get you pretty much any food item) and 2) delivery window and 3) unattended delivery

Amazon as a company believes margins are an opportunity, either for them, or for someone else. They don't believe in raising prices unless forced to by something external. You aren't correct here, they believe in making money on volume and breadth of services / products.