Amazon.com Inc. added a new grocery subscription benefit for Prime members and consumers who use electronic benefit transfer (EBT) payments. The subscription will be available in more than 3,500 cities and towns around the U.S., the online retailer announced April 23.

Subscribers will get unlimited grocery deliveries on orders of $35 or more from Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh and various local and specialty grocery retailers on Amazon.com, the retailer said. It will cost $9.99 per month for Prime subscribers, or $4.99 for EBT recipients. 

Amazon is No. 1 in the Top 1000. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers. Amazon is also No. 3 in the Global Online Marketplaces database, which ranks the 100 largest global marketplaces.

Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017. Whole Foods has 517 U.S. stores, according to its website, while Amazon has about 40 Amazon Fresh locations.

How Amazon’s new grocery subscription works

The subscription allows Prime members and EBT recipients to make unlimited grocery orders over $35. In addition to the grocery retailers owned by Amazon, subscribers can also get deliveries from Cardenas Market, Save Mart, Bartell Drugs, Rite Aid, Pet Food Express, Mission Wine & Spirits, and others depending on location.

Subscribers select a one-hour delivery window for their orders, Amazon said. They also get priority access to recurring reservations for weekly grocery orders. The subscription also includes 30-minute pickup orders from the grocery retailers.

Amazon says the subscription is cost-saving for anyone who orders at least one delivery per month from Whole Foods, or one order under $50 at Amazon Fresh.

The online retail giant piloted the subscription in late 2023 in Columbus, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; and Sacramento, California. More than 85% of subscribers in the pilot said they were very or extremely satisfied with the service, Amazon said. Customers cited saving money and convenience as their reasons for using the service.

Other grocery changes at Amazon

Amazon removed Just Walk Out checkout technology from its U.S. Amazon Fresh grocery stores, the retailer confirmed to Digital Commerce 360 in early April. It will replace them with Dash Carts, Amazon’s smart shopping carts.

Just Walk Out works by allowing shoppers to select products at a physical store and leave without having to scan the products at checkout.

“We’ve invested a lot of time redesigning a number of our Amazon Fresh stores over the last year, offering a better overall shopping experience with more value, convenience, and selection — and so far, we’ve seen positive results, with higher customer shopping satisfaction scores and increased purchasing,” an Amazon spokesperson told Digital Commerce 360 in a written statement. 

Amazon will replace Just Walk Out with Dash Carts at Amazon Fresh locations. Dash Carts are smart grocery carts first introduced in 2020. Customers log into the cart using a QR code through the Amazon app. Then, they can place items in the cart and scan them with a camera on the handle.

According to Amazon’s website, some Whole Foods and Price Chopper locations also have Dash Carts.

Amazon continues developing drone delivery

The retailer recently announced plans to expand drone delivery capacity to the West Valley Phoenix Metro Area. Amazon plans to have permission to launch the service from the Federal Aviation Administration by the end of 2024. The drone sites will work with nearby fulfillment centers to offer same-day delivery on millions of items, Amazon said.

Meanwhile, the retailer also announced it will shut down drone operations in Lockeford, California. It began using drones there in 2022.

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