Customers will be able to collect and return online orders from other retailers at select Aldi stores, thanks to the supermarket’s new partnership with parcel locker provider InPost.
Throughout March, InPost lockers will be available outside 22 Aldi stores across the country. The trial will conclude after a 12-week period, with the aim to roll it out to more stores if successful.
Richard Thornton, communications director at Aldi UK, said: “We are all about making things efficient for our customers, and the installation of InPost lockers will make shopping at Aldi even more convenient.
“People can collect or return parcels while they are doing their shopping, with the lockers accessible with a QR code. If the trial is successful, this will hopefully be something available to lots more of our shoppers later this year.”
Aldi offering a parcel locker service is an interesting move after the discount supermarket scrapped its home delivery services last year. The DeliveryX Europe Top1000 report highlighted that Aldi’s only online offering is a click-and-collect service. It stopped delivery of alcohol in January 2023, and Specialbuys deliver in the autumn.
The German company said it was working with “colleagues to understand the impact of this change for our people. This will involve exploring different options for our colleagues across Aldi”.
Since then the supermarket has “paused” click-and-collect at 12 stores due to lack of demand for the collection offering. Aldi stressed that footfall and sales “continue to grow rapidly”’ in the regions where the branches are located.
While supermarkets across the UK have been exploring ecommerce offerings, Aldi – recently ranked in the Top150 retailers in the UK – continues to focus on bricks-and-mortar stores. Its current target is 1,200 stores across the country.
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