Price Wars: Will Lower Prices At Trader Joe's Cause Whole Foods To Follow Suit?

Will pressure to remain competitive with Trader Joe's give Whole Foods the push it needs to cut prices and lose its 'whole paycheck' association?

Deutsche Bank analyst Karen Short reports that the price gap between the two grocery chains has recently grown, which she speculates is the result of Trader Joe's cutting prices. Short compared the prices on 77 similar items from the two chains and found that Trader Joe's was about 26 percent cheaper overall, reports Business Insider. The Trader Joe's basket totaled $240 while the Whole Foods basket cost $303.  

In comparing the companies' private label brands, Trader Joe's products were 15 percent cheaper. Short notes that, in the past, Whole Foods had matched the prices of its 365 Everyday Value products with that of Trader Joe's private label.

Back in 2013, Trader Joe's reached about 300 U.S. stores and cut prices on around 200 items. Whole Foods, caught off guard, followed with its own price cuts on similar items, leading Short to predict a similar lowering of prices from Whole Foods once again.