| Details: | Curbside Pickup at Whole Foods Market for Amazon Prime Subscribers:
If you pay for an Amazon Prime subscription, Whole Foods curbside pickup service is one of the best grocery services available.
Better than Instacart.
First, let's mention grocery delivery and why we do not recommend it:
- Whole Foods delivery drivers make as many as 10 stops before reaching your home, so your ice cream and other frozen food may begin to melt by the time it arrives.
- Drivers can drop off groceries and leave, without knocking on your front door.
Groceries may sit at your doorstep or garage door without you knowing.
- Delivery windows are 2+ hours, making it hard to schedule your day with no way to predict precisely the time it will arrive.
If you are busy when the delivery arrives, fresh food can spoil if left outside for a while.
- Drivers have, at times, delivered to the wrong address.
Amazon does refund when this happens, but can be frustrating to not get groceries when you expect to.
Below are our tips for grocery shopping for Prime members.
Shopping online:
- Shop Whole Foods on Amazon and choose store pickup.
Use a computer or tablet to shop, as their Amazon app currently does a poor job at Whole Foods shopping on a phone.
- If you have ever shopped in-store and scanned your Prime code at the register, you can see your past purchases making it easy to re-order things that you like.
- Add at least $35 to get free store pickup (free with Prime).
- All prices, including sale items, are the same as if you shopped in the store as a Prime member.
Compared to Instacart's surcharge of 20% at Costco and 10% at other stores, shopping at Whole Foods can be cheaper than other online grocery shopping.
- Deli items are available, but many prepared/cooked foods may not be.
- Whole Foods does not carry many popular sugary and snack brands.
Many of their snacks are organic, and cost more than Oreos and Dorrito's.
That being said, many snack products are available from Amazon with free Prime delivery.
- Fresh produce are available, but many nut products are not.
Popular nut brands are available from Amazon with free Prime delivery.
Checkout:
- During checkout, choose item substitution options (or no substitutions on all items), and pick an available pickup time window.
- You can add items after placing your order, up until their in-store shopper begins working on your order.
- They keep your items refrigerated and frozen, so they remain fresh until you pick it up.
Pickup:
- You will receive a text message or email saying your order is ready for pickup.
- From your mobile device, click the link within that message to open the Amazon app, choose "Curbside" and click the button to let them know you are on your way.
If you do not have the Amazon app on your mobile device, download it so the store can track your vehicle en route to the store.
- Make sure the Amazon app has location privileges enabled on your phone's settings.
- Their employees, tracking your vehicle on its way, will bring your groceries outside at the moment you arrive.
- Park in a designated "pickup" space, and their employees will load the groceries in your car.
- If you did not enable location services, select the "pickup" parking space number where you are parked, and the store will bring your groceries to you.
With Covid-19's spread at its peak in nearly every corner of the U.S., curbside pickup is a great way to get fresh groceries and avoid risks of getting Covid or spreading it to others.
Some local grocery stores have their own curbside pickup options, which probably will have better prices than Whole Foods.
Plus, shopping at locally-owned businesses helps support them at times when many are struggling.
However, be aware that local grocery stores that use Instacart for their online shopping may charge Instacart's hidden per-item surcharges of 10% or 20% (rate varies by store).
So, unfortunately, customers using Instacart's service will probably spend more than a Prime member shopping at Whole Foods.
Not all Whole Foods locations have curbside pickup available, but the locations that do have made shopping quick and easy, without having to wear a mask, get out of your car, or wait in a parking lot. |
