Yahoo Finance Aldi axes online deliveries to focus on new stores
Shoppers will no longer be able to order Specialbuys or cheaper wine to their door as Aldi cuts its online operations to focus on opening new stores.
Delivery of wines and spirits is to end later this month and Specialbuys will no longer be available online by autumn, according to The Sun, who first reported the move.
The discount retailer is winding down its online operations and stopping deliveries from its website.
Aldi launched home delivery of wines and spirits in 2015 which grew to offer shoppers many non-food Special buys exclusively online.
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It will leave click & collect of groceries, which Aldi launched in 2020 and is available from over 200 stores, as its only online service.
Shoppers have often been caught in queues online to snap up the latest Special buys, including air fryers, heated clothes airers, and popular Kevin the Carrot toys.
“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,” said an Aldi spokesman.
“We will also stop selling our Special buys online for home delivery later this year.
“We are working with our colleagues to understand the impact of this change for our people.
“This will involve exploring different options for our colleagues across Aldi.”
It isn't clear if there will be any job losses as a result of online ordering coming to an end.
The discount retailer wants focus on its target of 1,000 shops across the country. It currently has 950 branches.
Read more: FTSE 100: Sainsbury's achieves 'record' Christmas despite rising cost of living
Aldi recorded its highest-ever December sales in the United Kingdom, as shoppers squeezed by searing food price inflation flocked to the German discount supermarket chain to save money on groceries.
Sales topped £1.4bn for the first time, up 26% year on year, with the World Cup also boosting purchases, Aldi said.
Together, customers bought more than 48 million mince pies, 38 million pigs in blankets and more than 1,700 tonnes of Brussels sprouts in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Watch: Food inflation 'hit record high' ahead of Christmas led by fresh produce