Prices may drop at Minn. Whole Foods locations
Shoppers will find lower prices at Whole Foods stores, including seven in the Twin Cities, starting Monday when Amazon closes on its nearly $14 billion acquisition of the grocery chain.
Amazon says there'll be immediate price cuts on many grocery staples including vegetables, fruit, fish, meat and eggs.
Shares of Target, Supervalu and other companies in the grocery business dropped after price changes became public.
Target shares fell 4 percent, closing at $54.21. Supervalu, which owns Cub Foods, dropped about 6.5 percent to $20.39.
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Morningstar retail analyst RJ Hottovy said he expects Whole Foods won't aim to match other grocers' prices across the board, but will roll back prices on enough products to bring in more shoppers.
"I think the market probably has it right here," he said. "I do think the combination of Whole Foods and Amazon could be very disruptive to traditional grocers."
Customers can have products shipped from Amazon.com to a Whole Foods store for pick up or send returns back to Amazon during a trip to a store.
Eventually, Amazon also plans to give its Prime members special discounts and benefits at Whole Foods stores.