Amazon cuts fee for low-price grocery sellers: report

Amazon is reducing the fees it charges companies that sell low-priced, shelf-stable grocery items on its website, according to reports. 

The e-commerce giant, and parent company of Whole Foods Market, is cutting the fee it charges form 15% of the sale price to 8% of the sale price for grocery items priced less than $15, according to a report on Recode. The price reduction will be in place for at least a year, the technology news website reported.

The move could be an effort on the part of Amazon to be more competitive against rival Walmart, which charges sellers 15% of the sale price for products sold through its online marketplace, and its Jet.com subsidiary, which charges 10% for most non-gourmet grocery products, Recode reported.

An Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment on the fees, but she sent a link to Amazon's fee schedule showing the fee structure had changed as Recode reported, beginning Oct. 15, 2017, through Oct. 14, 2018.

The reduced fee could help some grocery suppliers who seek to sell through Amazon become profitable, according to the report. Sellers who use the company’s Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) service are required to pay warehouse fees to have Amazon store their product, on top of the percentage of the sale price. Sellers can also choose to sell directly to Amazon at wholesale prices.

One analyst quoted by Recode said the move “may move the needle” but was not likely to increase Amazon’s penetration in grocery significantly.