Forrester published a quick take that analyzes what the Whole Foods acquisition means for Amazon and the overall retail market. Some highlights include:

  • Where online grocery fails, Whole Foods excels. Less than half of online grocery shoppers regularly buy produce online (47%) or fresh food or beverages requiring refrigeration (41%). With Whole Foods, Amazon acquires 450 stores where shoppers can pick out their produce by hand at a store synonymous with healthy, fresh food.

  • Learning from the best in retail theater. Amazon is getting private lessons from the grocer that changed the way people shop for food. Through wine tastings, samplings, and fresh items like gourmet coffee, Whole Foods succeeds in retail theater and discovery, which is missing in most brick-and-mortar retail shopping experiences.

  • Amazon becomes an engagement platform. Amazon is quickly becoming a bona fide engagement platform via touchpoints like Alexa, so this deal will increasingly lock in digital and now also physical store customers.

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