The signs were reportedly placed in a store in Austin on Wednesday (March 28). But the signs had apparently been removed by Thursday (March 29). One of the signs read “blue signs mean special deals just for you, yes you,” while another sign said that Prime members can save 10 percent over “hundreds of sale prices.”
Still, a Whole Foods spokesperson said the grocer was not experimenting with such an offer. “We’re not testing this offer at any of our stores,” a spokesperson for the grocer told CNBC.
The news comes as Prime customers carrying the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature credit cards have a shiny new perk— the card will now net them the same 5 percent cash back at Whole Foods that it currently captures on Amazon.com.
The move follows a series of Whole Food upgrades Amazon has announced of late. Most recently, Amazon sweetened its Prime offering care of Whole Foods with free, two-hour deliveries to Prime members in the Austin, Cincinnati, Dallas and Virginia Beach areas. In the near future, Amazon also plans to make Prime the rewards program for Whole Foods stores.
These benefits should help Amazon strengthen Prime. CEO Jeff Bezos has long said of Prime that his goal is to make its various offerings and rewards so numerous and useful that at some point it simply becomes “irresponsible” for consumers not to join up. That’s a bold statement, but Amazon Prime currently offers free shipping, music streaming, video streaming and various discount rewards on-site for Prime Members.
Apart from the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa, which is only for Prime members, Amazon also offers a Rewards Visa that gives users 3 percent back on-site — a cashback offer that will also be migrating to Whole Foods.
