Shoppers could soon be able to buy Aldi’s hugely popular Special Buys items and alcohol without leaving the house after the supermarket giant hinted at plans to launch an online store in Australia.
Every Wednesday and Saturday mornings, the retailer offers one-off seasonal products such as camping gear and ski jackets that attracts huge crowds at its stores across the country.
But the move into online shopping could offer customers a whole new way to shop.
Shoppers could soon be able to buy Aldi’s hugely popular Special Buys items and alcohol without leaving the house (file image)
‘We are likely to start with something more exciting like wine or Special Buys online before we would entertain a full grocery offer,’ Aldi’s chief executive officer Tom Daunt told News Corp.
‘Online in grocery is something we have been watching very closely for a long time, it is still a small part of the industry today but it is growing.’
READ RELATED: Where are England's coronavirus hotspots among older people?
It’s unclear when the online store is expected to launch.
In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, an Aldi spokesperson said: ‘We understand Australian shoppers are always seeking convenience in their busy lives.
‘As our CEO Tom Daunt mentioned, it is inevitable that eCommerce will be part of our future.
‘Everything we do, we do with our “Good Different” approach to business, so as we look at how we bring this to Aldi shoppers, we’ll ensure this doesn’t compromise our ability to give customers exceptional value on high quality items.’
The online store comes as the supermarket is set to roll out 20 new stores this year across New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
Aldi opened its first store in Australia in 2001. Fast forward 20 years, there are now more than 500 stores throughout NSW, ACT, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
The chain’s Special Buys catalogues have long been a crowd favourite among shoppers, with one-off items released in stores twice a week.
Every Wednesday and Saturday mornings, the retailer offers one-off Special Buys products that attracts huge crowds at Aldi stores (pictured during one of the Special Buys sale)
The snow gear sale has been a huge hit in previous years, with pictures showing shoppers scrambling to get their hands on the cheap buys (picture of a snow gear sale in 2017)
Every year, huge queues stretch out the door as shoppers hope to get their hands on Special Buys items (picture of massive queue winding through a car park outside Aldi in 2016)
In August last year, it was revealed shoppers were paying strangers to wait in line at Aldi just to purchase Special Buys items on their behalf.
Customers have been finding ways to skip the queue by listing job advertisements on Airtasker in an effort to find someone else to fight the crowds for them.
One shopper, from Western Australia, paid a customer $20 after she successfully purchased an $80 Special Buy item for her.
The ad read: ‘Line up at Aldi tomorrow morning from 8am to try to secure a Special Buys item. I will need photo proof you are there and good communication throughout the transaction.
‘I need the $80 item bought with your cash as a separate part of this task. When the item is then delivered to an address, the cash will be reimbursed to you on presentation of the receipt.
‘It’s probably a task best suited to someone already going to the shops and lining up for themselves anyway rather than making a special effort.’
One Aldi fan, who stumbled across the ad on Airtasker, shared the post in a Facebook group, saying: ‘That’s one way to do it, who would have thought.’
Source:
