Aldi shoppers are getting curbside pickup, but do they want it?


The latest grocer to try curbside pickup isn’t one that is generally associated with offering fancy amenities. Discount grocer Aldi has decided to launch a pilot of the service in the U.S.

Aldi’s announcement comes alongside a plan to expand its grocery delivery, which it had been piloting in a few select cities, according to Business Insider.

Added service features like curbside pickup and delivery are in keeping with attempts to compete with top mainstream grocers like Walmart and Kroger, and even boutique grocers like Whole Foods, rather than dollar stores and other ultra-low-price outfits.

Amazon recently added curbside pickup to the growing suite of services available to Prime members at Whole Foods. And as Walmart has pursued a strategy of reinvention, it has implemented enhancements like in-store pickup towers to streamline BOPIS orders and even a robotic fulfilment system for online orders.

And yet even dollar store chains have begun to play with the same kind of service enhancements that grocers have been piloting. For instance, Dollar General recently began testing a scan & go app in 10 stores throughout the Nashville area.

Despite its notoriously spartan store layout and heavy emphasis on affordable private label CPG products, Aldi has been taking steps up market as it has pursued the most recent leg of its stateside expansion.

Over the past few years, Aldi has undertaken renovations to make some of its stores feel friendlier, with wider aisles, natural lighting and even digital signage. It has also improved its produce selections and added more natural and organic products. Last year, Aldi announced its intention to become the third largest grocer in the U.S. within five years.

Enhancing its customer experience isn't the only method Aldi is using to try to move to the top of the U.S. grocery market. The grocer has also been experimenting with new locations to draw foot traffic. Early in 2018, Aldi struck a deal with Kohl's to open stores next to its own.

• Aldi just revealed its next assault against Walmart, Amazon, and Kroger – Business Insider
• Are Aldis upscale makeovers necessary? – RetailWire
• Dollar General pilots scan & go tech – RetailWire
• Amazon delivers latest Prime perk to Whole Foods curb – RetailWire
• Aldi to open grocery stores next to Kohl's – RetailWire
• Is Walmart building a tower of power with its expanding in-store pickup network? – RetailWire
• Walmart looks to automate grocery pickup – RetailWire