While Amazon has struggled to find a consistent grocery strategy in the 15 years since it started dabbling in delivery, the Covid-19 pandemic has made one thing clear: consumers have a diminishing desire to walk the supermarket aisles.
The rest of the industry has figured that out as well. Amazon is streamlining its grocery delivery operation as it faces growing competition from Walmart, supermarket chains, and apps such as DoorDash.
According to a letter that was sent to employees and seen by CNBC, Amazon told workers who fetch items for delivery that they will soon be working for the company. Workers will become Whole Foods employees with longer shifts instead of being offered gig work so contractors can pick up short shifts.
The letter says that the online grocery fulfillment operations will be transitioned to Whole Foods Market by the end of the year.
Whole Foods will hire U.S. shoppers by the end of the year.
Whole Foods has a job description that says schedules will be made up to three weeks in advance. There is a recent job post for an Amazon shopper that says they can work as little as four hours per week and have shift flexibility.
The change marks Amazon's latest effort to simplify its grocery and physical retail operations, which have grown to include two supermarket chains, convenience stores and apparel stores. Amazon's largest acquisition was the $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods.
Amazon on Wednesday launched one-hour grocery pick-up at all Whole Foods locations nationwide.Last week, Amazon said it will close all of its bookstores, pop-up shops and 4-star stores, which are costly businesses that have failed to get enough traction. The company shuffled its leadership of physical stores, hiring Tony Hoggett, a veteran of British supermarket chain Tesco, to oversee the unit.
The latest change at Whole Foods will create a more unified team culture, among other benefits, according to the letter from Amazon.
Some workers are not happy with the change. Some Amazon shoppers are concerned that they will have to reapply for their job or that they will have the same level of flexibility with the new job. The Whole Foods spokesman said that workers won't have to reapply and that the company is working to give shoppers flexible scheduling options.
Robert Bruno, an employee at Whole Foods in Massachusetts, told CNBC that the new structure takes away many of the perks. The shorter shifts allow Amazon shoppers to create their own schedule.
Bruno said in an email that it was supposed to be a side gig for a lot of people.
According to the letter, Amazon is piloting the change at some Whole Foods locations. An employee at a store said workers were expected to fill online orders and assist with other tasks, such as bagging groceries and operating cashiers.
A person who wasn't authorized to speak publicly and asked to remain anonymous described the new role as requiring four times the amount of work for the same pay.
While on the job, in-store shoppers are expected to achieve certain metrics, similar to the productivity quota required for Amazon warehouse and delivery workers.
Amazon gives shoppers a handheld device that they can use to place items in bags to be delivered to customers. An employee said that they use the Shopper App to communicate with customers about item replacements.
The so-called item not found rate is one of the things that Amazon watches. It tracks how often item replacements are offered and how many grocery-picking jobs shoppers accept. If workers haven't scanned an item by 15 minutes, the app will remind them to shop.
Bruno said that Amazon shows how quickly shoppers pick up items. He said that each Whole Foods location has a certain UPH target and the number at his store is 66.
Bruno said that if it is too low, they will talk to you about it and possibly fire you.
Amazon tracks certain metrics, according to the Whole Foods spokesman.
Amazon has performance expectations for every employee, and measures actual performance against those expectations.
Amazon shoppers typically fulfill anywhere from 15 to 20 orders per day, though that number can vary if it's busy or slow, according to a video posted by Whole Foods.
The worker says in the video that he has gotten more fit doing this job because of the walking and moving around.
Dan says Amazon is trading at a 30% discount.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
