Amazon's Impact In The Grocery Sector Will Be Felt As Early As Tuesday

Investors have been operating under the assumption that Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN's acquisition of organic and natural grocery chain Whole Foods Market, Inc. WFM will impact the entire grocery sector over the long term. But that isn't the only scenario, as traditional grocery stores should be worried about the near term as well; Amazon's competitive threat could be felt as early as Tuesday.

Amazon's third annual Prime Day kicks off Monday evening and will continue through Tuesday, but for the first time ever, the day of specials and deals will likely include groceries, Kantar Retail's e-commerce analyst, Meaghan Werle, told CNBC. Amazon can easily take advantage of the popularity of Prime Day and leverage national media to pique shoppers' interest in groceries.

Meanwhile, Amazon Prime members will be treated with exclusive deals for food and beverage items ahead of Prime Day, which shows the e-commerce giant isn't waiting for the Whole Foods deal to close to signal its focus on food, Werle added.

Some Amazon's food items that are eligible for two-hour deliveries (in select markets) include ice cream, fruits and even alcohol.

Amazon can also flex its muscles and entice members to sign up for AmazonFresh, order from Prime Pantry or subscriber to its meal kits. This should also worry Blue Apron Holdings Inc APRN investors as the stock is now down around 20 percent since its much anticipated IPO. Related Links: It Started With A Whisper: SEC Filing Spills On How Amazon-Whole Foods Came To Be 'Amazon Acquisition Event Risk' And The Food Service Industry