Whole Foods to End Loyalty Program, Promises New Perks

Whole Foods announced this week that it will end its rewards pilot program and digital coupons, beginning May 2. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports all rewards must be redeemed and digital coupons used by May 1 or be lost. Any other benefits, including unused rewards, will not roll over to other accounts. The organic foods grocer also announced in a statement online that all rewards content associated with your personal account, such as the Recipe Box and/or Shopping List, can be downloaded as PDFs through May 1.

Total Retail's Take: I think most saw this change coming. Since Amazon.com acquired Whole Foods and made multiple announcements about growing its Prime membership plan through Whole Foods, a stronger push to join Amazon Prime has been the focus. It seems the added Prime perks at Whole Foods have helped membership grow in the paid loyalty program. In fact, it was announced this week Amazon has now over 100 million Prime members.