The battle for bargain hunting consumers continues — and Amazon $AMZN Fresh is joining the ranks.
The retailer plans to slash prices by up to 30% on 4,000 items on a weekly rotating basis, the subsidiary of e-commerce giant Amazon told Quartz.
Varying each week, markdowns will include items both sold online and at Fresh stores, Amazon’s physical grocery chain. Lower prices will apply to national brands, including Amazon’s private label, the retailer added, noting that items like meat, seafood, and snacks will be discounted.
“Increasing our weekly deals across thousands of items and expanding the reach of Prime Savings at Amazon Fresh is just one way that we’re continuing to invest in competitive pricing and savings for all of our customers — both in-store and online,” said Claire Peters, Amazon Fresh’s worldwide vice president, in a statement.
In a LinkedIn post, Peters said that Prime members will be able to save 10% off hundreds of grocery items when they shop online.
Inflation in the dairy aisle
Amazon Fresh is the latest retailer turning to a price reduction strategy in a bid to attract inflation-weary consumers. Earlier this month, Target $TGT said that it planned to lower prices on nearly 5,000 everyday items by the summer. The retailers added that it had already cut prices on 1,500 items including milk, pet food, and even diapers. But that may also be attributable to its sales decline during its first quarter.
As Amazon jumps into the fray, consumers in the inflation economy are now being flooded with deep discounts. Earlier this month, Walmart $WMT U.S. chief executive officer John R. Furner told investors during the company’s earnings call that the retail giant was seeing a boost in sales, thanks in part to the rollback in prices on 7,000 of its items.
Nonetheless, Amazon wants to keep up and compete with Target and Walmart. In late April, the retailer said it was launching a low-cost grocery delivery subscription service.