Just a few short years ago, if you asked the person on the street what their favourite supermarket most likely you would have heard Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda or Waitrose in response. But recently Aldi has been making the big supermarkets sweat, with cash-strapped consumers flocking to the store. The only channel in which Aldi has been flagging is e-commerce, as it hasn’t had an online outlet. Until now, that is.
Aldi has announced plans to launch a website in 2016. Not only will the new platform sell Aldi’s usual range of wallet-friendly foods but it will also introduce wine by the case, followed by introductions of non-food ‘special buys’ in the spring. Obviously the website will also offer customers home delivery and collection options from third party locations.
Certainly it seems Aldi is seeing some remarkable expansion. The launch of its new site comes after the grocer received record sales of almost £6.9bn in its last financial year. It has more than doubled its sales in the last three years, making it the UK’s sixth biggest grocer by market share. Furthermore, through the last year Aldi has grown its range in store by introducing 150 premium and specially selected lines such as deli items, fresh produce, meat, herbs and its award-winning wine collection.
Matthew Barnes, CEO of Aldi UK & Ireland, said: “We refuse to be beaten on price by anyone. We’re maintaining a significant price gap of at least 15% on an average basket of goods – people are seeing that value at the checkout, tasting the quality at home and coming back to do a full weekly shop, time and time again. Our launch online is another exciting chapter in our story. This will enable us to introduce the Aldi brand and some of our best-selling, best-quality and best-value products to thousands more customers across the UK.”
Whilst the internet has, for a while, provided a safe haven for the traditional supermarkets, it seems that time has come to an end. The big four better get themselves ready for the real fight to begin. 
