Monday 28 September 2015

Aldi Online - a contra-move that breaks the discounter-rules?

News that Aldi are going online appears to be a complete break with its traditional platform:
- Limited range
- ‘Bare-bones’ shopping experience and service
- Resulting in no-frills prices that are 15% lower

Going online pits it not against Tesco and the mults, but in direct competition with the high-service, unlimited range standards set by Amazon:
- 1-click ordering
- Returns as easy as 1-click
- And dense local coverage that drives down delivery cost

All of these go against Aldi’s core strengths…

4 comments:

Mike Watkins, Nielsen said...

Aldi and Lidl do not(and probably will not)need to sell their full Grocery range on line as their store model is already very efficient. All of the c.1500 skus are fast moving.Shoppers however have an `infinite` appetite to browse and buy from a wider range when online, and many are wilLing to wait(a day or two)for orders to be delivered(the Amazon marketplace model).Wine/Spirits/Beers + General Merchandise + Health/Personal Care combined have over £40b a year sales in Supermarkets. This is Non Zero Sum thinking from Aldi.

Mark Walker said...

Take up will depend heavily on delivery cost. If this is at 'discounter' rate as well . . .

Brian Moore said...

Well said, Mike
All incremental, another avenue of approach to the consumer, and headline-grabbing to boot.. ...

Brian Moore said...

Thanks Mark
Matching others' delivery charges should be sufficient to make an impact...