Amazon acquires whole paycheck

    Other than the obvious soaring of shares for Whole Foods and Amazon, the recent purchase will have a serious impact on the grocery industry. Amazon now being dubbed the “robo-supermarket” is set to drastically change the way we shop, and what stores looks like. It is likely Amazon will start using the 460 stores throughout the U.S, Canada and Britain as distribution points to further drive the AmazonFresh grocery delivery business. The online giant could find ways to give their new customer base alternatives without having to turn stores into distribution centers.  They have the option of offering customers the ability to order online or ordering a portion of your grocery list online. "Get it all delivered to your home or come in and maybe they put a little Amazon Echo and Amazon Fire Tablet showroom in some of these places," said Brad Stone, technology reporter for Bloomberg and Businessweek.​

​Amazon is feeling like a progressively powerful force in the sphere of commerce. That could also create an opening for small mom and pop like grocery stores that do not opt in for online sales.  Perceiving they are out of there element in mega-deals, those smaller stores may suddenly align themselves with Google, who will need the inventory once they lose Whole Foods. Although many believe Acquiring Whole Foods represents a striking departure from its initial business model, the question to watch is whether that is really true. Or will Amazon bring its tech algorithms, operational know how and low prices to a trendy but very expensive retailer thus putting significantly more pressure on the rest of the industry. The ability to bring a physical effect is a game changer. Consumers want to smell, touch and sample what they buy. 74% of food dollars dished out by online customers are spent in traditional street side businesses.

The Wholefoods deal is the largest deal ever for Amazon, outpacing its acquisitions of Twitch for $970 million in 2014 and Zappos for $850 million in 2009. It was reported last month that Amazon was set to open a physical bookstore in Washington, adding to the portfolio that includes San Diego, Portland, Ore., and its hometown, Seattle. The Amazon store in Georgetown is on the same block that once housed an enormous, multistory Barnes & Noble, which closed in 2011 as part of a deep withdrawal that came after years of fighting a losing battle with Amazon. 
 

Miscellaneous Amazon Endeavors

Food Delivery
Available to Prime members, Amazon Restaurants promises to deliver meals from restaurants to customers in one hour or less.

Large-Scale Delivery
Its logistics business includes warehouses, an army of workers and even planes. It is also testing drones for delivery to homes.

Mobile Devices
With its Fire Tablets, Amazon’s touch-screen devices are still far behind rivals Apple and Samsung.

A Cloud Computing
Its cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services, hauled in $12.2 billion in revenue last year from customers including Netflix and the Amazon Prime Video, which features a combination of new movies, TV shows and original programming.

Voice-Activated Speakers
The Echo, which uses its Alexa personal assistant, has been a breakout success.
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Groceries
Amazon has pilot tests of AmazonFresh Pickup stores and drive-through locations to pick up items ordered online and, if the deal goes through, it will have high-end markets with Whole Foods.