Aldi to launch online delivery service in the US
Aldi has struck a deal with a US grocery start-up that will allow it to deliver food directly to homes in three American cities.
The partnership with grocery delivery company Instacart will allow customers to buy food from the discount supermarket chain for same-day delivery.
Aldi, which is in the process of boosting its presence in the US market, said it currently had no plans to offer a similar service in the UK.
The deal comes two months after Amazon announced its £10.7bn takeover of upmarket food chain Whole Foods, which has pressured traditional grocers into stepping up their efforts in online delivery.
Instacart, which promises deliveries in as little as one hour, has also been threatened by the Amazon deal as it has been a Whole Foods partner since 2014.
When the takeover was announced in June, Instacart, which was valued at $3.4bn (£2.6bn) earlier this year, said: “From the beginning, we have been committed to helping grocers compete online.
“That is more important than ever given Amazon just declared war on every supermarket and corner store in America.”
Meanwhile, supermarkets are also locked in a price war in the US, with German rival Lidl beginning to build its presence in the country.
Aldi said earlier this year that it would invest more than $3bn in expanding its US store base to 2,500 by 2022. It currently has around 1,600 stores.
The pilot of the Instacart deal will take place in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas, with the potential of spreading it to more cities in the future.
