After an initial report stating that Aldi is set to launch an online grocery service in the UK, the German discount grocer poured cold water on plans for an expansion into e-commerce.
A spokeswoman for Aldi UK said that "e-commerce is not an immediate focus for Aldi, as we currently have the best-performing business model in the grocery sector. However, it is an area we monitor as part of our customer-focused approach."
Food and consumer goods research group IGD forecast grocery e-commerce to double from 2012 to 2016 in the five major European markets: Germany, France, Britain, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
However, Aldi has thus far steered clear of online delivery services, regarding them as not profitable enough, with the exception of Australia, where Aldi has offered the online delivery of alcoholic drinks since 2013.
Rewe – Germany's second-biggest supermarket group after Aldi – reported earlier this month that it was expanding its grocery delivery services in preparation for Amazon entering the German online food-delivery market.
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