On 18 May it was announced that Aldi would be joining forces with Deliveroo in order to offer their customers a home delivery service. The initiative is being trialled at one of their Nottingham stores. Customers will be able to pick from over 150 ‘essential’ goods and have these delivered to their homes within 30 minutes. It is reported that Aldi hope to roll this out across the country over the rest of the year.

This news may not come as much of a surprise as retailers (across all sectors) face an increasing, and well-reported, pressure to up their online delivery presence. Not only are retailers having to embrace the world of online shopping, but they’re also under immense pressure to make this as cost efficient and seamless as possible for their customers. Shoppers want to pay less, but receive their goods quicker and track the delivery process every step of the way.

A strategy that was also adopted by some M&S food stores in late March, the ‘Deliveroo’ model is a clever move for Aldi as they rival the big supermarket chains. Aldi are able to make use of Deliveroo’s existing infrastructure, such as their app and drivers, whilst making the most of their own existing resources, the Aldi in-store staff. The relationship is also mutually beneficial for Deliveroo as the service currently attracts delivery costs of £4.99 per order.

This is another example of an established retailer having to ‘get creative’ in order to keep their customers engaged and their business profitable. Whilst the demand for online delivery has inevitably been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is hard to argue that this won’t have a longer lasting effect on food retailers as customer habits change and they get used to a hyper-convenient way of supermarket shopping.