Aldi goes nationwide with Instacart

After an expansion earlier this year, Aldi and Instacart are rolling out online grocery delivery to all of the hard-discount grocer’s stores across the United States.

Aldi said Tuesday that online ordering through Instacart will become available by Thanksgiving at its stores in 35 states, covering 5,000 new ZIP codes. The national deployment will reach 75 major market areas, including San Diego, New York City, Miami, Raleigh (N.C.) and Minneapolis.

Batavia, Ill.-based Aldi piloted the same-day grocery delivery service in the Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles areas starting in August 2017 and then in March expanded it to Chicagoland, northwest Indiana and west toward Rockford, Ill. 

“Aldi is a pioneer and a leader in creating a shopping experience that works with people’s busy lives,” Aldi U.S. CEO Jason Hart said in a statement. “Our partnership with Instacart and the expansion of our e-commerce options are more ways we are meeting the growing needs of today’s shopper, who wants high-quality food at unbeatable prices.”

With the move, customers of Aldi’s more than 1,800 stores will be able to order groceries and fresh food — including organic produce, antibiotic-free meat and seafood — via Instacart for delivery in as soon as one hour. To use the service, shoppers go to Instacart.com/Aldi or download the Instacart app and fill the virtual shopping cart with groceries. Next, they select a delivery window, which can be anywhere from an hour to up to a week later, while at checkout. Instacart personal shoppers then pick, pack and deliver their orders.

Related:Aldi set to kick off national ad campaign

In support of the rollout with Aldi, first-time Instacart users are being offered $10 off their first three Aldi orders of $35 or more with the code “ALDILOVE.”

“The response to the Aldi pilot programs in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles and Chicago have been overwhelmingly positive. Bringing delivery to Aldi stores across the U.S. enables Instacart to grow its base of customers and introduce even more people to same-day grocery delivery,” stated Apoorva Mehta, founder and CEO of Instacart. “Like Aldi, Instacart is focused on delivering value and making quality food accessible and affordable to everyone. We’re excited to work together to further innovate the shopping experience with fast delivery and low prices for Aldi customers.”

Aldi’s national partnership with Instacart comes amid a $5.3 billion, five-year expansion program that will grow the chain’s store base by nearly 50% — to about 2,500 locations by the end of 2022 — and upgrade most of its stores. Aldi also has begun a major product expansion in which 20% of items in every store will be new versus a year ago. The product rollout, expected to run through early next year, focuses on fresh, organic and easy-to-prepare offerings and will expand the selection of fresh food by 40%. This week, Aldi also kicked off a national advertising campaign, dubbed “Shop differentli,” that highlights the quality and price benefits of shopping at its stores.

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