Amazon Prime Grocery Outlet: Secret Savings on Groceries

Amazon Prime grocery bags sit inside a car outside a Whole Foods Market in Berkeley, California

(Image credit: Getty Images)

last updated 15 July 2024

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As Amazon Prime Day is gearing up, you may be thinking about your Amazon Prime subscription and what it has to offer. Your Amazon Prime subscription holds many secrets and perks. Among them is a powerful tool to save on groceries — welcome news for shoppers battered by inflation.

So, if you're tired of watching food costs skyrocket, check out Amazon Prime Grocery Outlet, a subset of Prime’s other online offerings, including Amazon Fresh and Amazon Grocery.

One of many Amazon Prime benefits, Amazon Prime Grocery Outlet carries pantry staples, baby food, beverages, snacks and sweets, bread and non-perishable items. They don't carry produce, but you will find meat and seafood — Slim Jim Steakhouse Strips and StarKist canned tuna, to be exact.

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The beauty of it is that, unlike other grocery outlets that are confined to mostly house brands, Amazon Prime Grocery Outlet has everything — major manufacturers, unknowns, and boutiques. You can also use the search function in Amazon Prime Grocery Outlet, another plus.

Amazon Prime Grocery Outlet categories

Deals and discounts: This page offers grocery “coupons” at checkout, saving an additional 10% to 50%, or specific dollar savings, including $10 off. Items might include cookie mix, peanut butter, teas, dehydrated fruits, spices and much more.
Snacks: Here you’ll find chips and crisps, cookies, meat snacks, crackers and pretzels, as well as gift baskets. You'll also find various dips, nuts and seeds, fruit snacks and popcorn.
Breakfast foods: includes cereals, toaster pastries, instant breakfast drinks and more.
Baby food: baby formula, cereal and porridge and snack foods.
Cooking staples: Here you’ll find packaged meals and side dishes, meat, poultry and seafood (think canned and dry), vegetables, beans and peas, and Sloppy Joe mix, happily important enough to merit its own category.
International foods: Shop by specific food category (spices, pasta, breads, etc.) or by popular cuisines, including Asian, Indian and Latin cuisine.
SNAP-eligible groceries: You can pretty much buy any type of food with your SNAP EBT on Amazon. Look for items labeled SNAP EBT Eligible.
Other categories include warm and cold beverages, candy and chocolate, and products in Amazon’s Subscribe & Save collection.

Scan the in-store code

When making an in-person grocery purchase at Whole Foods or Amazon Fresh (which aren't available in all locations) be sure to scan your Prime member QR code at checkout. Your Prime member code can be found in your Whole Foods or Amazon mobile app on your phone. Scanning it deducts any Prime discounts that may apply from your total price.

Consider getting an Amazon Prime credit card

Besides giving you 5% cash back on purchases on Amazon, Amazon's Prime Rewards Visa Card also gives you 5% cash back on groceries when you shop at Whole Foods. If Whole Foods is your primary grocery store, this card can save you a bundle of cash over time, while maximizing the perks of the Amazon and Whole Foods partnership. Right now, apply for the card and get a $200 Amazon Gift Card instantly upon approval for a limited time only.

Subscribe & Save is another way to save on groceries (and other products) on Amazon. If you choose Subscribe & Save, you’ll get further discounts by signing up for automatic re-delivery of specific products. Keep in mind that you’re notified well in advance when a Subscribe & Save shipment is going out, and you have the option of skipping shipments at no cost.

The Amazon Prime Grocery Outlet perk is a bonus separate from Amazon Outlet and Amazon Warehouse — other good ways to save on groceries and other items. Oh, and in case you’ve forgotten, Amazon Prime members also get discounts at Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon.

Counting perks has become a must for those considering the fate of their Amazon Prime membership, which became 17% more costly in 2022, and is now $139 for an annual subscription. Some perks, including Amazon Treasure Truck and Amazon Drive, have been axed. But a bonus came in 2022 when Amazon Music opened up its record vaults for Amazon Prime subscribers.

Stock up and save

When stocking up on items, such as paper towels, toilet paper, hand soap and more, save extra — up to 15% off select Amazon Brand products — when using Amazon's stock up and save feature. (Limited time offer).

Just log into your account to see if you're eligible and scroll through all the deals, based on your previous search history. Then select the quantity of the items you want to order and add them to your cart. A green bar at the top of the page will show how close your are to fulfilling the 15% off quota on your items. Head to your cart and the 15% will be applied to your total price. This is a great perk to pair with the Subscribe & Save feature, saving up to an additional 15%.

Bob was Senior Editor at Kiplinger.com for seven years and is now a contributor to the website. He has more than 40 years of experience in online, print and visual journalism. Bob has worked as an award-winning writer and editor in the Washington, D.C., market as well as at news organizations in New York, Michigan and California. Bob joined Kiplinger in 2016, bringing a wealth of expertise covering retail, entertainment, and money-saving trends and topics. He was one of the first journalists at a daily news organization to aggressively cover retail as a specialty and has been lauded in the retail industry for his expertise. Bob has also been an adjunct and associate professor of print, online and visual journalism at Syracuse University and Ithaca College. He has a master’s degree from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and a bachelor’s degree in communications and theater from Hope College.

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