Amazon has introduced products from Whole Foods Market for Prime members in four locations around the US: Austin, Texas; Dallas, Texas; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Through Prime Now, people in the four locations can get free two-hour delivery of the fresh produce, meat, seafood, everyday staples, select alcohol, and locally-sourced items available at Whole Foods through primenow.com or via the Prime Now app on Android and iOS. Amazon says it plans to expand across the US to more locations throughout the year.

“Were happy to bring our customers the convenience of free two-hour delivery through Prime Now and access to thousands of natural and organic groceries and locally sourced favourites,” said John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market. “Together, we have already lowered prices on many items, and this offering makes Prime customers’ lives even easier.”

Whole Foods delivery via Prime Now is available daily from 8am to 10pm. Prime members also have the choice of paying $7.99 on orders of $35 or more for ‘ultra-fast’ delivery within one hour.

“Ever since Amazon introduced Amazon Fresh, it has had its sights firmly set on the grocery market. This makes a lot of sense when you think that Amazon accounts for 37 per cent of all online retail sales in the UK, and 57 per cent in the US,” said Hugh Fletcher, global head of consultancy and innovation at Salmon.

“Today’s announcement shouldn’t come as a surprise, as it’s the most logical step following the company’s acquisition of Whole Foods and the next step in connecting its grocery offering. Utilising Prime to push this super-quick delivery service further underlines the benefits of its CRM programme, bringing the customers closer to Amazon, and making them more accustomed to locked in subscription models – further reducing the need and inclination to shop elsewhere.

“Prime now provides an almost unparalleled service that digitally-native customers expect, driven by convenience, flexibility and, most importantly, immediacy. As consumers, we are all becoming familiar with and expectant of a world where we do not have to wait for our favourite products and Amazon continues to consistently meet these traits.”