Sponsored By

Amazon, Whole Foods limit online grocery customers

Grocery pickup service expanded, with planned Woodland Hills store opening as online-only location

Russell Redman

April 13, 2020

4 Min Read
Amazon-Prime_20Now-Whole_20Foods_20Market_02.png
Order capacity has been expanded by more than 60% in response to soaring demand at AmazonFresh and Whole Foods.Amazon

Amazon and subsidiary Whole Foods Market have begun limiting the number of online grocery customers because of skyrocketing demand fueled by the coronavirus pandemic.

On a temporary basis, AmazonFresh and Whole Foods delivery and pickup customers now must sign up for an invitation to use those online grocery services, Seattle-based Amazon said yesterday.

Customers have “generated unprecedented demand for grocery delivery” in the “new world of social distancing and stay-at-home orders” now in effect across the country, according to Stephenie Landry, vice president of grocery at Amazon.

“We’re increasing capacity each week and will invite new customers to shop every week,” Landry said in a blog post on Sunday. “We are releasing delivery windows throughout the day and have made it easier for customers to see when the next delivery window is available by including it on the homepages of AmazonFresh and Whole Foods Market.”

Order capacity has been expanded by more than 60% in response to soaring demand, Landry reported. Yet the combination of continued high demand and restricted capacity resulting from social distancing will make the availability of delivery windows “challenging” for customers, she noted.

“To help, in the coming weeks, we will launch a new feature that will allow customers to secure time to shop,” Landry said. “This feature will give delivery customers a virtual ‘place in line’ and will allow us to distribute the delivery windows on a first-come, first-served basis. Simultaneously, we will continue to add capacity as swiftly as possible.”

Related:UPDATE: Coronavirus concerns stir employee angst at Amazon, Whole Foods

At Whole Foods, grocery pickup service has been increased from about 80 stores to more than 150 in the past few weeks, and the chain plans to keep up the expansion over the coming weeks. Landry said Whole Foods will modify store hours for select locations to focus exclusively on fulfilling online grocery orders.

“Our Whole Foods Markets stores remain open, and team members have done incredible work ensuring a safe and well-stocked shopping experience,” she added. “If you are able to do so safely, we kindly encourage our customers who can to shop in-person.”

Amazon, too, has opened its planned new grocery store in Woodland Hills, Calif., as a temporary online-only store, according to Landry. The store will focus solely on fulfilling grocery delivery orders.

In addition, Amazon has expanded online access for beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps. In tandem with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the retailer has now enabled SNAP online grocery purchases in Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, Oregon and Washington and said it’s working with the USDA to bring access to more states. Previously, the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot was available only in New York and Washington.

Related:Whole Foods, Amazon enact temporary wage hike in coronavirus response

Like other grocery retailers, Amazon is bringing in extra hands to help meet surging demand. In mid-March, the company unveiled plans to hire another 100,000 people, including for grocery delivery, and invest more than $350 million to support employees and partners during the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Ramping hiring enables us to more quickly receive, restock and deliver products to customers and continue increasing delivery window availability,” Landry said.

On Monday, Amazon announced that its initial original 100,000 jobs goal was met and that the new employees are working at sites nationwide. The company now said it aims to create an additional 75,000 jobs to “help serve customers during this unprecedented time.”

Coronavirus safety measures in Amazon and Whole Foods stores and facilities have included daily employee temperature checks; distribution of masks and gloves; plexiglass barriers between cashiers and customers at checkout; stronger cleaning and sanitation protocols; social distancing guidelines, including restricting the number of customers and employees in stores, based on a location’s size; and modified store hours to give associates more time to restock shelves and sanitize stores.

“Our Amazon associates, Whole Foods Market team members, and delivery partners are among the many retail heroes of this COVID-19 crisis,” Landry said. “Throughout this process our top priority has been the health and safety of customers and employees, while also working around the clock to expand services, launch new features, and open stores in order to serve the dramatic increase in customer demand for grocery delivery.”

For our most up-to-date coverage, visit the coronavirus homepage.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

Stay up-to-date on the latest food retail news and trends
Subscribe to free eNewsletters from Supermarket News

You May Also Like