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Comment by StudentStuff | Hacker News Reader

Amazon Fresh is not full vertical integration, merely seems like Costco's ordering program or similar.

Amazon Fresh used to be quite popular in Seattle a half decade ago, but I barely see their empty containers anymore. I think Amazon saw their volume falling with Amazon Fresh and was threatened by their vendors and wholesalers with higher prices, thus purchasing Whole Foods to attempt to stabilize their cost on goods.

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> Amazon Fresh used to be quite popular in Seattle a half decade ago, but I barely see their empty containers anymore.

Amazon has been cannibalizing Fresh by including (a smaller selection of) grocery items in Prime Now, which (unlike Fresh, which is a premium upgrade) is included in the base cost of Prime.

Amazon Fresh had its own (timely and reliable) delivery network and reusable plastic storage crates (often insulated). It seemed like a more eco-friendly & premium service compared to Amazon Prime.

That's a tough one - considering the blurry definition of "grocery item", they'll end up with a lot of frustrated customers who find they need a premium upgrade for the privilege of buying from Amazon.

For example, you can buy a Philips electric razor through Amazon Prime, but refill cartridges are only available through Amazon Fresh. The result: I made my first online order with Walmart and will probably make many more in the future.

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