Virginia Postrel, Columnist

Amazon Puts Restaurant Industry on Notice

Lower prices at Whole Foods would speed up a trend that makes the dining industry nervous.

June 16, 2017 at 8:22 PM UTC

Virginia Postrel is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. She is a visiting fellow at the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy at Chapman University and author, most recently, of “The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World.”

Reservations.
Photographer: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Dior

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Amazon.com Inc.’s offer to buy Whole Foods Market Inc. for $13.7 billion has obvious advantages for both parties. It rescues the organic-food chain from its activist investors and gives it more buying power. It strengthens the online giant’s position in groceries while providing a whole new source of data on shopping habits.

It’s also good news for customers. They can expect lower checkout bills at the stores often called Whole Paycheck for their pricey merchandise. A fierce, customer-focused competitor, Amazon will surely look for ways to drive down prices.