With its $13.7bn deal to buy Whole Foods Market, Amazon may finally have answered a question that has stumped executives in charge of its nascent groceries business. How can an online supermarket that has fewer customers than a provincial convenience store chain buy enough food to stock a virtual cornucopia?

Amazon dominates online shopping in the US, with $136bn in annual revenues. But its grocery delivery service has made faltering progress since launching in 2007.

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