AUSTIN, Texas (Sept. 8, 2011) – Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM) now makes it easier than ever to give the gift of natural and organic foods to loved ones near and far through a new webpage offering a virtual giving experience. On www.wholefoodsmarket.com/giftcards, shoppers can purchase virtual gift cards, reload existing cards or even schedule an auto-reload option to give a gift that keeps giving.
The new electronic gift cards will be easy to purchase and give via email or text message right from the Whole Foods Market website. Gift card recipients can either print their card out or display it at the store register on their smart phone for a more environmentally friendly option.
“We are constantly looking for innovative ways to improve the way customers can enjoy our products and share our shopping experience with others,” says Chris Jensen, gift card team leader for Whole Foods Market. “Whether it is for a college student several states away or a friend across town, you are one click away from sharing Whole Foods Market with friends and family.”
In another move to make gift giving even easier, customers can schedule auto reloads in two ways on the website either based on timing, such as the first of every month, or value, such as adding a certain amount once a value dips below an established amount.
American Express is sweetening the deal by offering a bonus to its customers who schedule auto-reloads using their American Express cards. For a limited time, when a customer signs up for a $100 auto-reload schedule with their American Express card, they are given a bonus of $10 on their gift card, funded by American Express, for the first load. They are also then given an additional $5 for every third time they reload through the end of the year.
Learn more about our gift card programs at www.wholefoodsmarket.com/giftcards.
About Whole Foods Market®
Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (wholefoodsmarket.com, NASDAQ: WFM), is the leading natural and organic food retailer. As America’s first national certified organic grocer, Whole Foods Market was named “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store” by Health magazine. The company's motto, “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet”™ captures its mission to ensure customer satisfaction and health, Team Member excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Thanks to the company’s nearly 60,000 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by FORTUNE magazine for 14 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2010, the company had sales of more than $9 billion and currently has more than 300 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
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