The Amazon Prime Now grocery bags are loaded to be delivered to the outside of a Whole Foods store. Amazon and Whole Foods are expanding their grocery delivery service for members of Amazon Prime in Milwaukee and Madison.(Photo: AP Photo / John Minchillo)

Amazon announced Wednesday that it will offer its Whole Foods Market delivery service to its core members in Milwaukee and Madison as part of expanding service to 10 cities nationwide.

The service adds another competitive layer to a Milwaukee food market, which is already among the most competitive in the United States.

"Our goal is to reach as many of our preferred customers as possible with this new service in Milwaukee, so our coverage is vast," Tanvi Patel, Business Development Manager at Prime Now, said in a statement. "We are delighted to reach our customers from Germantown to the north, Caledonia to the south and Brookfield to the west to Lake Michigan to the east."

In addition to Milwaukee and Madison, Amazon is extending deliveries to its core members in Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan; Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa Florida; Saint Louis; Omaha, Nebraska; and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

"As of today, the main members of these cities can buy thousands of the best items, including fresh produce, high quality meat and seafood,

The service is available through Amazon's Prime Now app or online. Whole Foods Market delivery is available daily from 08:00 to 22:00.

Leading members can purchase a selection of items from Whole Foods Market and get those items delivered in one hour for $ 7.99, or two hour free shipping on orders of $ 35 or more, said one spokeswoman for Amazon.

A customer pick-up service is also available at Whole Foods Market sites.

RELATED: Food goes digital: online grocery stores are becoming the fastest growing sector in the United States.

Whole Foods has three stores in Wisconsin: Milwaukee, Wauwatosa and Madison.

Prime is Amazon's membership program in which customers pay $ 119 a year for free two-day delivery of products purchased from the Internet retailer, among other benefits.

The Seattle-based Amazon also said Wednesday that it is expanding its delivery areas in New York and Seattle, and has announced the first expansion of the free grocery pick-up service in five new cities.

RELATED: The battle over how you get your food will intensify, while Kroger cuts its prices

Amazon's entry into the grocery sector has forced traditional stores to expand services to customers or, at least, to speed up their projects.

RELATED: Madison-based grocer to bring full-service supermarket in downtown Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Metro stores now offer a grocery delivery service. Stores also offer "click and pick" services where customers order groceries, retailers assemble orders, and customers pick them up at stores.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

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