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German grocery chain Aldi Inc. felt the pressure adding up from two different directions. On the one hand, the supermarket landscape became more challenging the moment Amazon announced the future acquisition of Whole Foods Market Inc. On the other hand, its German counterpart Lidl has ambitious plans to open stores in America and consolidate its position through ruthless strategies. Therefore, Aldi considered it’s high time it opened its first grocery delivery system.
The Grocery Delivery System Will Start with Three U.S. Cities
Aldi is still one of the most popular supermarket chains in the U.S. However, the company still needs to adapt to new trends in order to remain relevant to the public. Therefore, the upcoming plan is to serve their customers door to door saving them time and a trip to the nearest Aldi supermarket.
Therefore, Aldi partnered up with Instacart to bring on its new delivery service by the end of this month. The new grocery delivery program will take off in three U.S. cities at the beginning. These locations are Dallas, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. If the pilot test renders positive results, it is likely that the company will extend this service. Scott Patton, Aldi’s Vice President of Corporate Buying, claimed that this entire online grocery demand niche is new and therefore full of gaps.
“Grocery shopping online is a relatively small part of the business but it is continuing to grow.”
Both Lidl and Amazon Are Leveling up the Stakes within Supermarket Industry
In January, Food Marketing Institute researched the potential of this market. They worked on 2016 reports which stated that the online grocery sales reached $20.5 million. However, by 2025 this niche is likely to grow 4.3% to as much as 20%, hitting a record high of at least $100 million.
Aldi has also scheduled this program at a time when its industry has to confront with a price war. German rival Lidl has already opened its first stores across America. The company resorted to price adjustments and made them appealing to anyone. On top of that, Amazon menaces to take over this industry as well the moment it announced plans to acquire Whole Foods Market Inc.
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