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Aldi is making the move into online sales with the frenzy inducing Special Buys and alcohol the first to become available in the future.
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 as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated Aussie’s online shopping habits.
“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 to News Corp.
Some of its 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.
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The supermarket’s annual ski sales is set to make a comeback in the second half of May, with Mr Daunt admitting there was a “little bit of a riot” when it was cancelled last year due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Aldi’s share of the supermarket market in Australia is now estimated to be 12.4 per cent, according to Roy Morgan, while Woolworths captures 32.9 per cent of the market and Coles sits at 26.5 per cent.
Professor Gary Mortimer, retail expert from the Queensland University of Technology, said choosing Special Buys and alcohol as the first to go online showed Aldi’s conservative approach to the market.
“Those types of products, particularly general merchandise and apparel special buys, tend to be the type of product that you may move online to capture a new geographic market,” he said. “So Aldi currently isn’t in the NT or Alice Springs or Tasmania, but if they were to go online with just their special buys they would immediately capture that new geographic custom.”
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However he warned that moving online would mean more money in terms of logistics, handling and delivery and Aldi may choose a click and collect method from post boxes or a central hub to reduce costs.
But Aldi’s online offering will also put it into direct competition with major players, he added.
“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.”
Aldi is also opening 20 more stores this year across Australia with South Australia and NSW to get a big boost.
NEW ALDI STORES COMING IN 2021:
South Australia
Stirling
Whyalla
Glenelg
Victoria
Karingal
New South Wales
Carlton
Bomaderry
Merimbula
Western Australia
Inglewood (opened February 2021)
Karrinyup
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