In a survey of 18 items, Bloomberg found Whole Foods was 50 percent more pricey on average than Walmart.
Whole Foods - the chain caters to wealthy shoppers - said Mikey Vu, a grocery expert at Bain & Co
"Unless they slash prices, they're not going to dramatically expand the income band of customers they go after," Vu said. (My note: Unless prices are low, more people may not be able to afford it)
The fruit, vegetables and canned goods were all cheaper at Walmart, with the exception of bananas, which cost 49 cents per pound at Whole Foods compared with 56 cents per pound at Walmart. The biggest price difference was for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which cost $1.99 per pound at Walmart and $5.19 per pound at Whole Foods.
Whole Foods sells only natural products that are fully compliant with animal-welfare standards, while Walmart sells a range of groceries that don't all meet Whole Foods' lofty standards. Still, it could be tough to persuade cost-conscious shoppers to pay $1.99 for a can of Whole Foods corn that they can get at Walmart for 68 cents.
Still, taking on the entrenched players may well be harder than becoming an online leviathan in books, apparel and electronics.
Most customers still prefer to shop for groceries in stores, and delivering fresh food is a tricky and expensive proposition that has vexed Amazon for a decade. Plus, even with Whole Foods, Amazon remains a small player, controlling less than 2 percent of of an $800 billion market dominated by Walmart, Kroger and Albertsons Cos. According to Moody's, combined sales for Amazon and Whole Foods will be well below $20 billion, or less than one-tenth that of Walmart.
Bezos has acquired a chain mired in a deep slump, with customers decamping for mainstream rivals offering better deals on natural and organic products. If Bezos was willing to break even at Whole Foods, taking margins on the chain's high-end products to zero, Amazon could reduce prices across the board by as much as 15 percent, according to an estimate by Bain's Vu.
But shifting the entrenched perceptions of Whole Foods, and bringing customers back in a bid to boost sales, will take time.
