Yahoo! Finance - Seeing Whole Foods products first in Amazon searches? Breezing through the grocer's stores with an app that scans affordable fruits and seafood?
In Seattle, for instance, Amazon is testing a convenience store where sensors scan items so shoppers don't have to wait in line for a cashier or scan items themselves. Amazon said it does not plan to bring that technology to Whole Foods, a comment that may allay fears about automation and job cuts. Still, it's an example of how the checkout might get easier down the road.
Amazon is also expected to help Whole Foods fight its "Whole Paycheque" image by cutting costs and lowering prices.
That could open up Whole Foods to a much broader customer base, said Theodore Waldron, an associate professor of management at Texas Tech University.