Aldi to roll out curbside pickup to nearly 600 stores

After a pilot in selected markets, hard discount grocer Aldi plans to launch Curbside Grocery Pickup service at almost 600 stores.

Aldi said Thursday that it aims to expand the click-and-collect service to stores in 35 states by the end of July. Customers will place their orders via Aldi’s Instacart page or mobile app, and Aldi store associates will pick and pack the groceries and bring them out to customers’ vehicles.

To use curbside pickup, customers place their online orders at shop.aldi.us, where they can access the full selection of Aldi products as well as “Aldi Finds” promotional items. Shoppers then fill their virtual carts with products and choose a pickup time and store location at checkout. They can find the nearest Aldi store that offers curbside pickup at shop.aldi.us or by using the Aldi mobile app. Upon arriving at the store, customers park in marked pickup spots, and then a store associate will bring out their groceries and load them into their car.

“Our Curbside Grocery Pickup pilot was quickly embraced by our customers, and demand for this service has continued to increase. We’re pleased to be bringing this service to customers across 35 states over the next several weeks,” Aldi U.S. CEO Jason Hart said in a statement. “We are always looking for ways to make the Aldi shopping experience even more convenient and accessible for everyone. Whether shopping in-store, or online for delivery or pickup, we’ll continue to be here to safely serve our customers.”

Related:Food price escalation won’t change Aldi’s formula, CEO Jason Hart says

Aldi rolled out Instacart online grocery delivery chainwide in the fall of 2018, with the service becoming available later that November at stores in 5,000 new ZIP codes in 35 states, covering 75 major markets. Now Aldi stores in more than 10,000 ZIP codes offer Instacart delivery. Aldi announced its partnership with Instacart in August 2017, starting with a pilot at stores in Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles.

In addition, Aldi also offers store pickup via Instacart, and this past November the retailer launched alcohol delivery through Instacart. Overall, Aldi operates nearly 2,000 stores across 36 states.

Use of online grocery services has jumped in recent months as many people look to avoid going to stores because of concerns about COVID-19. In a study released yesterday by Inmar Intelligence, 78.7% of U.S. consumers surveyed reported shopping online for groceries after the coronavirus outbreak, up 39% from before the pandemic, and 56.7% said they shop for groceries online more often now than before the crisis. Earlier this month, Coresight Research projected U.S. online grocery sales to grow about 40% this year, fueled by high demand triggered by the pandemic.

Related:Discount grocers Aldi, Lidl institute customer limits in stores

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