Amazon is still struggling to break into the US$840-billion grocery market. More than a year after its US$13.7-billion acquisition of Whole Foods—a move that left the industry scrambling—the number of Amazon Prime members shopping for groceries at least once a month declined from 2017, according to analysts at UBS, an investment banking company. (Bloomberg)

Talking point: A separate study from the firm Brick Meets Click found that households using grocery delivery and pickup services from physical retailers spend about US$120 more than those using Amazon for grocery shopping—and also spend more frequently. Though Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods was thought to scare off competition, companies like Walmart, Kroger and Target responded with their own delivery and in-store pickup options. That makes Amazon’s services less unique, with the added disadvantage of having less physical locations. The news comes amid complaints about Amazon Prime’s decline in service and reports of unsafe working conditions. Here in Canada, Loblaw and San Francisco-based Instacart announced a grocery-delivery partnership, one month before the San Francisco-based service’s deal with Whole Foods was ended.