Amid Food Cost Surge, Amazon Prime Launches SNAP Eligible Grocery Subscription Service

Instacart has a new competitor in Amazon Prime with the launch of its new grocery delivery subscription service.

The e-commerce giant recently announced that its Prime members and customers using EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) in over 3,500 cities and towns across the U.S. now have access to the subscription benefit, which allows them to have their groceries delivered on a rolling basis.

It will cost them an additional $9.99 per month for Prime members (on top of their regular membership fee) allows members free delivery for any grocery bill over $35 across Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, and other local grocery and specialty retailers on Amazon.com, much like Instacart. EBT card users can also use the service at $4.99 per month.

The SNAP benefit add-on comes at a time when Americans are faced with grocery bills of about $475 per month for one person. Grocery spending spiked to 8.4% in 2022 as compared to the prior year.

Some of the participating stores include Cardenas Markets, Save Mart, Bartell Drugs, Rite Aid, Pet Food Express, and Mission Wine & Spirits among others.

“We piloted our grocery subscription with Prime members in Columbus, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; and Sacramento, California, in late 2023,” Amazon wrote in its company blog. “In a recent survey of grocery subscribers from the pilot, more than 85% of respondents shared that they are extremely or very satisfied with the unlimited free delivery benefit. Some of the top reasons customers shared for staying a subscriber following the trial were saving money on delivery fees, and the service making their grocery shopping experience more convenient.”