Discounter Aldi has called time on its popular cheap wine case delivery service as it axes online shopping to concentrate on building up its chain of supermarkets.
Aldi’s bargain booze was a major weapon in the German discounter's battle to win middle-class shoppers from rivals when it started the service in 2015, and it had initially ploughed £35 million into its wine cases deliveries. However there is already a reduced offer on Aldi's website as plans to phase out the deliveries later this month come into effect.
Customers will also no longer be able to order Specialbuys to be delivered to their door as Aldi pulls the plug on its home delivery operation. It is not known exactly when deliveries will stop, but Aldi said it will start winding down all of its online operations later this year. The retailer's click and collect service will continue and will not be affected by the plans.
Read more: Morrisons shoppers faced the biggest price rises in 2022
Making money from online deliveries was difficult for most retailers until the pandemic, but online grocery sales boomed during lockdowns with the online market doubling in size to 14.5%. However, as shoppers were able to return to stores, the share of the online market has fallen to 11.6 per cent, according to industry analysts Kantar.
Shoppers often queue up outside stores to online to snap up Specialbuy bargains, and recent huge sales growth has meant the discounter has decided it no longer needs the costs or distractions of an online business and plans to focus on buiklding up its 990 branches tto 1000 this year.
A spokesperson for Aldi said: “Aldi now has around 1,000 stores across the country and we’re building even more to bring our great quality, low priced products closer to more people. Aldi is more popular than ever, and we are prioritising making our Wine and Specialbuy products available in our stores.
“We keep our prices low by being the most efficient retailer in Britain and we have therefore taken the decision to stop selling wine and spirits online for home delivery from later this month. We will also stop selling our Specialbuys online for home delivery later this year. Our grocery Click & Collect service will continue, and we would like to thank every customer that has bought Aldi products online. Aldi will continue to consider new digital services in the future.”
Last week, Aldi reported its best ever Christmas with a 26 per cent rise in sales in December to £1.4 billion as shoppers tightened their belts and was named as the cheapest retailer overall in 2022 by Which? The discounter has attracted shoppers from all of its rivals, overtaking Morrison’s as the UK’s fourth biggest supermarket last year.
Now read:
- Waitrose accused of "woke hypocrisy" for banning the sale of vapes
- Millions of DWP Universal Credit claimants missing out on £1,200 savings boost
- How to get 48 days off by booking just 19 days leave in 2023
- All the big money changes to look out for in 2023 month by month
- How to work out how much your heating costs per hour
