Talking to News Corp, Tom Daunt, Aldi CEO, said groceries could be added at a later date but e-commerce was set to be part of the supermarket’s future.
“We are likely to start with something more exciting like wine or Special Buys online before we would entertain a full grocery offer,” he revealed.
An Aldi spokesperson said there were no confirmed timings on when an online store would be open for business, or if it would happen at all, but it is definitely one to keep an eye on.
The German retailer has dropped a few incredibly-affordable collections of fitness gear in the past - one in 2020 flogging weights and other workout essentials (think barbell sets for $59.99 and $19.99 medicine balls), and another only a few months ago with a bunch of super cute activewear and natural goodies.
Fun fact: some of Aldi's special buy bestsellers after its 20 years in Australia have been simple buys, including 62 million books, 24 million socks and seven million tea towels. The bargain supermarket chain has also sold 42,000 unicycles.
“The overarching challenge is once you go online, even if its just for alcohol or Special Buys, you put yourself self in direction competition with national players and global players like catch.com, which is now owned by Wesfarmers, Amazon and Dan Murphy’s online,” he said. “Aldi’s growth has been supported with the clear point of differentiation. It’s a very different experience shopping at Aldi and that’s what draws customers to the store – the lines at the front of the store on Saturday morning to capture those Special Buys is a part of the experience of shopping at Aldi.
“If you move online you lose that point of difference and I think that’s possibly why they have been hesitant to move online even until today.”
In the meantime, Aldi also announced they will be opening 20 new stores across the country over the next year.
