Were Whole Foods' Price Cuts Just an Amazon.com Gimmick?

While Amazon.com's (NASDAQ: AMZN) purchase of Whole Foods Market looks like it was a picture-perfect wedding, it appears that the price cuts enacted almost immediately after the marriage was consummated was little more than a gimmick to get people in the door. Despite all the publicity, prices are barely lower than they were before the merger.

It was well known that Whole Foods couldn't shake its "Whole Paycheck" image because of the cost of shopping there -- not even after introducing its 365 by Whole Foods private-label brand, which on many items sported prices lower than you'd find even at Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). The grocery store was still seen as a supermarket destination for the well-to-do rather than for middle America.

Image source: Whole Foods Market.

Source: Fool.com