Do you get your groceries delivered? Well, if you’re a Whole Foods customer, you’re about to pay a little extra for the privilege.
Whole Foods Market, like its fellow grocery chains and competitors Target and Walmart, has recently announced that a $9.95 service fee will be added to all delivery orders going forward, and customers aren’t happy. Read on to learn more about the controversial decision and see what shoppers have to say.
Whole Foods Announces Service Fee On Delivery Orders
That's right: much to the dismay of shoppers, a service fee will now be applied to Whole Foods delivery orders. Said the store when explaining their decision: "The service fee helps cover operating costs, including equipment, technology and other costs associated with your grocery delivery order, so that we can continue to offer the same competitive everyday prices in-store and online.”
For rush orders, too, additional fees may be incurred—though it doesn't state in the Whole Foods FAQ what exactly those fees would entail.
I need Whole Foods to go back to free delivery with prime. I’m not paying 9.95 for delivery.
— Madelaine Kimmie Ho (@iamKimmieHo) April 12, 2023
Fans Are Furious: ‘I’m not paying 9.95 for delivery’
Fans of the grocery giant are decidedly not thrilled with the permanent addition of the delivery surcharge, which was tested in certain markets starting back in October 2021 and seems to now have gone nationwide. Previously, free two-hour delivery of Whole Foods grocery orders totaling $35 or more was an included perk with an Amazon Prime subscription.
Whole Foods fans who previously enjoyed the free delivery benefit on Amazon Prime subscriptions have taken to social media to voice their frustrations with the permanent surcharge. "So @WholeFoods went from free delivery to @amazonprimenow members, to $9.95, to now charging an extra $5 for last minute time slots that open up. And a tip on top of it because the poor drivers aren't paid a living wage. /sigh" lamented a frustrated Twitter user.
Some are even officially boycotting using Whole Foods delivery at all:
.@amazonfresh @amazon @wholefoods used to get weekly deliveries from both Whole Foods & Amazon foods. Then they added a $9.95 charge to WF deliveries & never used it again.
Last month they added a charge to AF EVEN WITH PRIME so guess what? No deliveries. So good for business. — Kristine (@Schachin on Spoutible too) (@schachin) April 12, 2023
This isn't the first time Whole Foods has been in hot water regarding the rescinding of free delivery with Amazon—a lawsuit was filed last year regarding the addition of a $9.95 delivery surcharge for subscribers.
Target And Walmart Started The Surcharge Trend
As we mentioned, Whole Foods is just the latest in a line of grocery giants that have implemented similar surcharges.
Target and Walmart already charge extra for single-use bags at checkout, The US Sun reports, with a $1 charge for 10 bags automatically added by Target to every pickup or drive-up order with no option to opt out. Said one customer on Twitter at the time the charges were introduced, "Thanks, but no thanks Target: I am not absorbing your cost under the guise of 'saving the planet'."
Walmart also adds a $7.95 flat delivery fee to all online orders, unless you subscribe to Walmart+. Target, who utilizes the personal shopper service Shipt for its deliveries, charges $9.99 per delivery order, but does offer a $99 annual membership for unlimited "free" deliveries.
It's uncertain at this time whether Whole Foods Market plans on joining the delivery service subscription game.
