Thasos Group, a New York-based research firm, issued a report based on mobile phone location data that showed that Amazon’s lower prices at Whole Foods contributed to a 17 percent rise in foot traffic for Whole Foods stores the week of August 28, and that traffic remained modestly higher by mid-September. Amazon officially merged with Whole Foods on August 28.
According to the report, the data also indicated that the largest percentages of new customers for Whole Foods during the first week of price reductions were regular customers of Walmart (24%), Kroger (16%) and Costco (15%). When adjusted for the size of the customer base, Trader Joe’s (10%), Sprouts (8%) and Target (3%) saw the highest percentage of shoppers defect to Whole Foods during that period.
Thasos Group reported that by September 16, Whole Foods traffic was up 4 percent on a year-over-year basis.
“We all know that Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods has the potential to be a game-changer in the grocery space, and in the bricks-and-mortar versus online battle more broadly,” said Thasos Group CEO Greg Skibiski. “It will be extremely interesting to watch the winners and losers emerge from the data over the coming months.”