Whole Foods Too Expensive, No Real Savings For People

[Anonymous]

OP, I don’t think you get the point of Whole Foods. Originally, they carried high quality foods and other items, often organic, that couldn’t easily be purchased elsewhere. Larger stores and boutique “health food” stores have caught up — while, under Bezos, the quality at WF has sharply declined, even as their products have increasingly used GMO ingredients, and conventional meat and produce takes up more space. Some things like spices and their 365 brand continue to offer good value, but, overall, the high prices at Whole Foods no longer reflect the reality of their declining quality.

It will be interesting to see what happens in Friendship Heights when the Trader Joe’s opens up. I already prefer to shop at Trader Joe’s — which has excellent prices, and often higher quality than Whole Foods. Amazon Fresh often sells the exact same things as Whole Foods — for significantly less, and, after a recent refresh, has been much better and much more consistent in their stock. Whole Foods used to have excellent hot and cold food bars and prepared foods, but the variety and quality have decreased while the prices have increased. Their customer service has slipped from being excellent to just ok — and their staffing has clearly sharply decreased over the years. (Yes, I’m still ticked off that the express cashiers were replaced with self-checkouts that don’t accept cash. ) Anyway, going forward, there’s not much that I will be shopping for at Whole Foods — which used to be my favorite store.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unlike some of you I don't have a political axe to grind so have no problems shopping at WF nor do I make up stuff about WF.

My experience as a savvy shopper who checks out a range of supermarkets on a regular basis, WF is the best value for the quality you get. Their produce is the most consistently reliable. And it is good! And it's not particularly more expensive than, say, Giant or Safeway. And it's cheaper than MOMs. Some people like to claim MOMs has better quality but I go there regularly and am not convinced by this argument. And it's definitely cheaper than the farmers markets.

Like for like items of the same brand are similarly priced af WF as at any generic supermarket. WF also has the 365 range, which is pretty inexpensive. And the Prime discount absolutely pays for itself.

WF historically was known as Whole Foods Whole Paycheck but it's cheaper now than it was 20 years ago, adjusting for inflation. You can definitely shop cheaper elsewhere but people making this argument are typically buying a different basket of goods for the most part, relying on a different diet and lower quality brands.

+1. I live in Manhattan, so am used to expensive groceries, but I shop at WF because it’s one of the more affordable grocery stores and definitely has the best quality food for the price you’re paying. I also shop at Trader Joe’s, but I prefer the meat, produce, and certain pantry staples at WF. Their sales flyer comes out on Wednesdays, and I usually buy whatever meat is on sale and freeze it until I feel like using it.

[Anonymous]

I think WF can appear expensive but the quality of the fresh food is far better than other local stores. So for me it ends up being the better financial deal because of less waste. I also buy a lot of fruit/vegetables from Lottes. Their prices are up but again the quality (and prices still) are much better than other local chains.

[Anonymous]

Shop at Wegmans. I never understood the fascination with Whole Foods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unlike some of you I don't have a political axe to grind so have no problems shopping at WF nor do I make up stuff about WF.

My experience as a savvy shopper who checks out a range of supermarkets on a regular basis, WF is the best value for the quality you get. Their produce is the most consistently reliable. And it is good! And it's not particularly more expensive than, say, Giant or Safeway. And it's cheaper than MOMs. Some people like to claim MOMs has better quality but I go there regularly and am not convinced by this argument. And it's definitely cheaper than the farmers markets.

Like for like items of the same brand are similarly priced af WF as at any generic supermarket. WF also has the 365 range, which is pretty inexpensive. And the Prime discount absolutely pays for itself.

WF historically was known as Whole Foods Whole Paycheck but it's cheaper now than it was 20 years ago, adjusting for inflation. You can definitely shop cheaper elsewhere but people making this argument are typically buying a different basket of goods for the most part, relying on a different diet and lower quality brands.

+1. Practically everything I buy there is 365 brand or produce, so it's cheap. Combined with Costco and ethnic markets for huge quantities of beans/lentils, it's cheap.

[Anonymous]

I don't think WF is actually that expensive anymore, especially with the Prime deals. I love Trader Joe's, but their produce really isn't dependable and WF's is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shop at Wegmans. I never understood the fascination with Whole Foods.

Yeah I think it has a lot to do with the type of cooking that you do and the foods that you eat. I don't like Wegmans- at all. I keep trying it and I'm disappointed.
I will say that their summer fruit party platter is usually on point and I will buy that if I'm going to a party and don't have time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shop at Wegmans. I never understood the fascination with Whole Foods.

Wegmans might be a better fit for certain shoppers (not me) but it isn’t any cheaper than Whole Foods. It’s quite expensive.

[Anonymous]

If you want cheaper, do Amazon Fresh and have them deliver it. Items are often on sale and often cheaper than Safeway regular price.

[Anonymous]

I find it affordable?

[Anonymous]

My issue with WF is way too much of the deli, prepared, and bakery section items are now full of palm, soybean or canola oil — when olive oil or butter should be used.

Why would anyone pay premium prices for Costco tier seed oil slop?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why the Amazon Wholesale Foods executives don’t get a clue already. Shopping there offers no savings or value for the money in the economic times we are living in. Bezos and his cronies are rich enough so why don’t they pass some of that wealth on to the consumers that made him rich in the first place. I don’t like all the biometric crap either. No I don’t want to pay with the palm of my hand you jerks. Enough already. Every time I would go there it’s a mass collection of my personal data and I feel nickled and dimed. I stopped going there three months ago and now prefer Trader Joe’s. Get a clue already Amazon/Whole Foods! You ruined a great shopping experience trying to corporate market your way out of everything in Whole Goods markets. Sucked the essence of what made Whole Foods great in the first place. Corporate clowns. All you care about are your Hamptons Beach Houses.

Agree was enjoyable before pamdemic

[Anonymous]

Whole Foods was NEVER about saving money, it was famously expensive long before Bezos. Nowadays it is decent price for quality relative to comparable options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The least expensive stuff is their 365 brand stuff, and the best savings are on their Beauty and Skin Care stuff on Amazon Days (for me, that's Tuesday, not sure if it's the same across the country.)

It is the closest grocery store to me, but I am careful what I buy there.

I’m wary of 365 brand in the age of Amazon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what you are buying. Whole Foods produce is often cheaper than Giant or Wegmans and the quality is dramatically better. I don’t buy everything there but some items are worth it because they are unique or better quality. Trader Joe’s produce sucks because the food goes bad too fast. It’s fine for bananas, potatoes, onions, and avocado but never for berries of any kind.

Yep about the Trader Joes produce