Discount supermarket Aldi is trialling a click and collect service in one of its stores as it seeks to tap into the boom in online shopping.
Currently available only to Aldi staff, the trial is running from a store in the Midlands.
The shopper places an order from the store’s range and then drive to the local store where store staff bring the shopping out to their vehicle.
Giles Hurley, CEO, Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “We know that more and more people want to access the high-quality, affordable food they know they can get at Aldi.
“This is yet another way we are innovating to make sure we best serve our existing customers and make Aldi’s great products and unbeatable prices available to even more people.”
Click and collect is a natural fit for a retailer such as Aldi, which is able to offer discounts by prioritising efficiency and limiting its product range.
Adding a delivery service for the last mile, which can take over a quarter of total distribution costs, would eat into the discounter’s carefully controlled margins. Even established online retailers struggle to make this area profitable.
Click and collect allows store staff to fulfil the orders but then places the onus on customers to make the journey.
Aldi is already selling over 300 products through the Deliveroo on-demand app from stores in the East Midlands, London, Cambridge and Greater Manchester.
