Aldi Preparing UK Online Shopping For 2016

The UK could be set to gain another major online supermarket following an announcement from Aldi that it is readying an ecommerce push.

The German retailer has confirmed that its UK business will begin selling wine by the case online from early next year. This will be followed by non-food “Specialbuys” items in the spring, and also offer customers home delivery and collection from third-party locations.

The move is part of Aldi’s wider growth strategy as more and more British consumers choose to do their shopping online with companies such as Ocado.

Expansion

“This will enable us to introduce the Aldi brand and some of our best-selling, best-quality and best-value products to thousands more customers across the UK,” Aldi UK chief executive Matthew Barnes told Reuters.

Figures from market research firm Kantar Worldpanel revealed recently that Aldi is now Britain’s seventh largest supermarket brand, taking 5.6 percent share.

Fellow research firm Neilsen also revealed last week that almost half of UK households buying groceries are now visiting Aldi or its fellow low-cost German rival Lidl every month.

Rumours of Aldi’s move into the ecommerce space first surfaced earlier this year in the German press, reporting that the UK would be an ideal initial expansion, as it had grown quickly to make up nearly five percent of the company’s total sales.

This was despite a 2013 report from the company that said online sales would not be profitable enough.

However some of Aldi’s biggest rivals, such as Tesco and Sainsburys, have had a well-established online offering for some time, and are now looking to broaden their technological offerings.

Tesco even launched a Google Glass-powered shopping app, Tesco Grocery Glassware, earlier this year, which used uses image-recognition technology to provide shoppers with more information on their purchases.

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