Amazon has unveiled a new subscription service for grocery delivery, targeting both Prime members and customers who use Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards.
The service is now accessible in more than 3,500 locations across the U.S. and comes with a free 30-day trial.
For a monthly subscription of $10, Prime members can have unlimited grocery delivery on orders over $35 from Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh, and a range of local grocery and specialty shops on Amazon’s platform. This includes retailers such as Cardenas Markets, Save Mart, Bartell Drugs, Rite Aid, Pet Food Express, and Mission Wine & Spirits.
The subscription service provides one-hour delivery windows at no extra cost, unlimited 30-minute pickup for orders of any size, and priority access to Recurring Reservations for a weekly grocery order.
For customers without Prime, Amazon said it’s offering a discounted subscription fee of $5 per month to customers with a registered EBT card for their state’s welfare program. These customers can access the grocery delivery subscription without a Prime membership.
While this move could be viewed as strategic, the online grocery market remains fiercely competitive. Although Amazon’s vast resources and expansive network provide a strong advantage, competitors are not sitting idle. Walmart, for instance, boasts a robust online grocery presence with a large number of physical store locations.
However, while Amazon’s grocery delivery plan is cheaper, it still faces competition from Walmart Plus, which costs $12.95 per month or $98 per year and Target, which offers a free grocery delivery plan for $99 a year.
The success of this new grocery delivery offering may depend on its association with Amazon. While it’s more expensive than the Walmart and Target equivalents, Whole Foods availability and the EBT tier could be useful in reaching a wider audience.