Why Discount Grocer Aldi Is Getting Into the Delivery Game

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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