The move by German grocery chain Aldi, which will test the service in Dallas, Atlanta, and parts of Los Angeles starting August 31, is a sign of how competitive the supermarket landscape has become as food retailers look for every edge possible in a fast-changing marketplace.
“Aldi follows the digital world and e-commerce just like everyone else in the business,” Scott Patton, Aldi’s vice president of corporate buying, tells Fortune. “Online grocery retailing will be part of the future.”
The e-commerce shake-up in the rest the retail has been slow to hit food sales, with only 9 percent of U.S. adults reporting that their households order groceries online at least once a month, according to a recent poll from Gallup. However, the low use rate suggests a “theoretically enormous potential for growth," according to Gallup.
Discounters like Aldi, known for its no-frills stores and highly coveted private label, have put pressure on traditional grocers, which are also trying to prepare for an e-commerce future likely to be remade by Amazon and its acquisition of Whole Foods.
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