Britain's fourth largest supermarket group, Aldi UK, is to end its click-and-collect service that was introduced at the height of the pandemic, the company said.
Launched in September 2020, the service was initially introduced in response to the online grocery shopping boom that was fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
It is currently available in 174 stores out of Aldi's UK total of 1,020, but the service will end on 18 August.
Unlike its traditional supermarket rivals – market leader Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons – Aldi does not offer a home delivery service.
Online Sales
Online's share of Britain's total grocery market was about 7% before the onset of the pandemic in 2020. It peaked at about 15% during the pandemic, and is currently just under 13%, according to industry data.
Aldi, owned by Germany's Aldi Süd, and fellow discounter Lidl have expanded rapidly over the past two decades, transforming the UK supermarket scene and forcing traditional players to compete more aggressively.
However, recent industry data showed Aldi's UK market share has edged lower. It was 10.0% in the 12 weeks to 4 August, down 20 basis points on the year, according to data published on 13 July from market researcher Kantar.
News of Aldi's click and collect closure was first reported by industry publication The Grocer.
A recent study by Pricer revealed that some 65% of UK shoppers have switched either 'some' or 'all' of their shopping to Aldi and Lidl.
The study found that despite aggressive discounting and enhanced loyalty offers from mainstream supermarkets, shoppers continue to switch to the discounters in search of deals.
