Discount retailers have been hesitant to launch food e-commerce for a long time. Aldi could open up a whole new target group for this business. So far there is no large discounter that delivers groceries to its customers. Lidl and Aldi are only testing delivery in a few countries such as the USA, Great Britain or Switzerland, but there they use partners such as Doordash or Instacart for delivery.
All the more remarkable is Aldi Süd's current push to test a completely self-organized delivery service in Germany. Even if it is initially limited to three cities and it is still completely unclear whether the service will be rolled out widely, all of the competition will be watching with fear. This doesn't just apply to the prices that Rewe and Edeka base themselves on, or to the design of the markets.
Even if Aldi introduces a new service, the competition cannot simply ignore it. A delivery service from Aldi would also come at exactly the right time. The start-ups have paved the way, and many consumers have acquired a taste for having groceries delivered to their homes. What was previously unthinkable for many people is increasingly becoming a matter of course. But many of the new providers are now weakening. Anyone who now has the financial strength to set up a well-thought-out service no longer faces too much competition.
Aldi could offer seniors real added value
In addition, an Aldi delivery service could attract a whole new target group. Start-ups like Gorillas or Flink are aimed more at hipsters in big cities who want to quickly grab a bag of chips and a can of energy drink for their Netflix evening. This is a clientele that neither reliably orders regularly nor spends a lot of money. And they are customers who need to be constantly wooed with discounts and marketing promotions.
Aldi, on the other hand, is a brand that everyone knows and that broad sections of the population already trust. The retailer could even attract seniors as customers for a delivery service who find it difficult to carry their purchases home from the store. This customer group is also likely to be willing to pay a corresponding delivery fee because the service offers them real added value. This means that demographic change could play into the hands of the discounter Aldi. More and more older people are using cell phones as a natural means of communication. If Aldi manages to offer an app that is intuitive to use and doesn't create any hurdles for older users, it could be a success story.
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