Amazon Prime customers can now pick up their online grocery orders an hour after they’re placed at Whole Foods stores.
It’s yet another step Amazon.com Inc. is taking to bolster its online grocery business after the company was flooded with food orders at the Covid pandemic's outset.
Customers have been increasingly avoiding supermarkets and ordering their groceries online since the outbreak began. In March, it was nearly impossible in the Seattle area to book a grocery order through Amazon Fresh, the company’s grocery delivery service. Amazon has since hired thousands of workers and expanded its capacity to keep up with demand.
“While the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of online grocery services and prompted new customers to try services like grocery pickup, it’s clear that this offering will become a more permanent solution for many customers,” Amazon said in a blog post.
The online grocery business has grown 40% this year, largely due to Covid, according to Supermarket News. The website reported as early as May that nearly 80% of U.S. consumers had shopped online for groceries since the pandemic’s beginning.
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