Here's How Whole Foods' New Prices Compare To A Regular Supermarket

The findings might surprise you.
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Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods Market has caused a lot of speculation in how the tech giant will change the high-end supermarket chain. The first of those changes is one that consumers will love ― it comes in the form of price cuts.

There’s been a list circulating for the past week with roughly 10 items that were expected to become more affordable at Whole Foods, and today marks the first day consumers can actually enjoy those lower prices. The savings on some of these items are fairly substantial, ranging between 7 and 38 percent cheaper.

Bloomberg went to its local WFM on East 57th Street in Manhattan and compared the new prices. The savings were good. It made us wonder if WFM, the retailer often nicknamed Whole Paycheck for its steep prices, could now be found comparable to other supermarkets.

We reached out to a Big Y located in Northampton, Mass. The Big Y is a New England chain of supermarkets with over 100 locations. They operate on a rewards system where coins are randomly given to their shoppers to be used for future promotions. (The coins can provide some substantial savings, as you’ll see in the pricing below.)

So how does this local supermarket’s prices compare to Whole Foods’ new prices? We took a look at six of the newly discounted WFM products and here’s what we found:

Organic Bananas

WFM = $0.69 per pound (previously $0.99)

Big Y Supermarket = $0.99 per pound

Organic Fuji or Gala Apples

WFM = $1.99 per pound (previously $2.99 for gala and $3.49 for fuji)

Big Y Supermarket = $3.49 per pound

Organic Avocados

WFM = $1.99 for one (previously $2.79)

Big Y Supermarket = $3.29 for one (this is unusually high)

Organic Salted Butter

WFM = $4.49 for one pound (previously $5.29)

Big Y Supermarket = $6.39 for one pound (but only $3.39 if you have a promotional gold coin)

Organic Large Brown Eggs

WFM = $3.99 per dozen (previously $4.29)

Big Y Supermarket = $5.99 for Pete & Gerry’s per dozen (but only $2.99 if you have a promotional gold coin)

Almond Butter

WFM = $6.99 for 16-ounce jar (previously $7.99)

Big Y Supermarket = $8.99 for 16-ounce jar (for Jif)

It turns out that for these particular items, Whole Foods has been comparable to other supermarkets even before its price cuts ― and now it’s even more affordable than the supermarket. If you were to buy one of each of the products listed above, even with the savings offered with Big Y’s gold coin, Whole Foods would save you a couple of bucks. Of course, that’s just a look at these six specific products, with a focus on organic products.

Keep in mind that the price cuts haven’t been rolled out on too many items yet. And we all know how expensive the beloved Whole Foods cold and hot food buffets can be, since that’s where many of us rack up our bills.

A spokesperson at WFM told HuffPost that “customers should expect to see additional price cuts in the coming weeks and months.” We’re not sure how this will affect the way WFM is positioned in the grocery market, but if things continue in this direction, the brand could shed its Whole Paycheck image.

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