Aldi Süd launches click & collect pilot project

Next week, Aldi Süd will begin a pilot project for a click-and-collect service at three locations in Germany. The test of the pick-up points will initially be carried out in Mülheim, the headquarters of Aldi Süd and Düsseldorf, as reported by Lebensmittelzeitung.

With Click & Collect, customers can order their purchases online and then collect them packed in-store. In the future, the service will be available at Aldi Süd via the “mein-aldi.de” website.

Only a test so far

For the time being, the test is only intended to familiarise with the processes of the new concept. It should therefore not be assumed that the network of pick-up points will be extended throughout Germany in the future.

According to Lebensmittelzeitung, this test run is part of a series of trials that Aldi Süd is carrying out worldwide – including projects in the UK and Switzerland.

So far, Click & Collect has hardly played any role in the German discount sector, as many companies are reluctant to invest in it – mainly due to fears that such services may affect sales in the brick-and-mortar business. Aldi Süd also appears to be skeptical about the economic prospects of such a service.

Another test in Mülheim

Since last year, Aldi Süd has been testing another new concept in Mülheim: a delivery service under the label “Mein Aldi”, under which customers can order groceries from a range of 1,300 items. Deliveries are made Monday to Saturday by electric vehicles in time slots selected by customers. It remains, however, unsure whether the delivery service will also be available in other parts of Germany in the future.

T-Online.de