shopping - Groceries from the Vending Machine: Aldi and Rewe are going new ways
After discount chain Aldi Süd, following in the footsteps of supermarket chain Rewe, has started operating some delivery vending machines to test their function and gain insights into changed customer demand. The test, which began in mid-July, is reportedly time- and region-limited, according to the company's statement in response to inquiries. Previously, the "Lebensmittel Zeitung" reported on this.
One machine is located in Düsseldorf, and two are in Mülheim an der Ruhr. For the discount giant with approximately 2,000 stores in Germany, this is an innovative niche project that could provide a better understanding of new shopping behavior in the age of online shopping. Another example is delivery services: Aldi Süd has been testing such a service since the previous fall in a similarly limited version. Meanwhile, Rewe has been experimenting with delivery machines.
How the Aldi delivery machine works
Customers who order online through mein-aldi.de or the accompanying app can pick up their items the next day or up to five working days later - access to the items on the day of purchase is not possible. The interior of the approximately seven-meter-long, three-meter-wide, and three-and-a-half-meter-high container is refrigerated, allowing for the sale of fresh produce. Frozen items are also available for purchase. If a customer orders cleaning supplies, they will receive them well-chilled. The product range is smaller than that offered in the store.
The consumer receives a QR code after their online purchase, which is scanned at the machine, causing a glass door to open and a paper bag with the purchased items to be ready. The pickup is not available around the clock but only within a specific time window - in Düsseldorf, pickup must be between 3:15 p.m. and 9 p.m. The minimum order value is €20, and there is no additional fee for using the machine. The container, which holds the items, is located directly next to a regular Aldi store on a parking lot.
Rewe also experiments
The machine is part of the so-called Click & Collect system. Customers order online and pick up their items later. This saves time by avoiding waiting in line at the cash register and extensive browsing in the store.
Competitor Rewe places significant emphasis on Click & Collect, with the option available in every second store in its 1,800 locations in Germany, according to company statements. However, in most cases, customers must go to a specific area of the business to pick up their orders from an employee. Delivery machines, or contactless pickup, are a relatively new addition for Rewe, with only 16 nationwide. These can be used around the clock, and most of them are in Cologne and Berlin.
"These stations are an additional offering to provide customers with more flexibility in shopping," says a Rewe spokesperson. "Especially in inner cities, where there is not enough space for a REWE market with a pickup service, the format of pickup stations is attractive." Rewe has no major expansion plans for its automaton presence: It will prefer the expansion of the stationary pickup services in the market instead.
Experts are skeptical
Industry experts expressed reservations about the economic potential of this offering. "The machine must be expensive, given that it is refrigerated and requires electricity," says Marketing Professor Martin Fassnacht from the WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management.
Economically, it makes little sense in light of relatively high storage costs, as well as the possible reduction of impulse purchases: "People no longer go to the stores and no longer buy spontaneously." While there are spontaneous purchases on the internet that benefit online retailers, these are likely to have little impact on discount stores like Aldi.
In principle, pick-up automats in retail have the advantage that consumers are no longer bound by opening hours and can shop around the clock. This works well for retail giants like Amazon with its "Locker" automats. However, in the food retail sector, opening hours are already quite extensive, and most customers would not be annoyed by closed shops. "Some supermarkets are open until midnight, while others start selling early in the morning," Fassnacht explains.
Advantage of constant availability
For a few people, it could still be an advantage to come to groceries in the middle of the night, Fassnacht says, and this could be the case with the Rewe-automats that are open around the clock. However, the three containers of Aldi Süd are only available to customers during the opening hours of the nearby store. "Aldi is therefore leaving the only small advantage of its concept unused," Fassnacht says.
And what does the expert say about the aspect that consumers can save time by ordering groceries through pick-up automats and picking them up the next day on their way home via an app? "The time factor plays a minor role for consumers, as they usually do not have to wait long in stores," Fassnacht explains. Supermarkets and discounters have also shortened waiting times through checkout machines.
The sister company goes other ways
And how does it look in the other part of the Aldi universe? The sister company Aldi Nord is currently not getting involved with pick-up automats and other Click & Collect offers. A company spokesperson explains, "We want to make shopping as simple as possible for our customers. That's why we focus specifically on modernizing our stores and improving the shopping experience for our customers for a quick and easy shopping experience."
- Rewe, inspired by Aldi Süd's delivery vending machines, is also testing this innovation in select cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
- Martin Fassnacht, a marketing professor from the WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management, has expressed reservations about the economic potential of these delivery vending machines in the food retail sector.
- Despite the reservations, Fassnacht acknowledges that the constant availability of these machines could be an advantage for consumers who prefer shopping at unusual hours.
- In contrast to Aldi Süd, IKEA has also integrated delivery vending machines into its retail strategy, offering customers the ability to pick up their purchases around the clock from Automat stations.
- The discount chain ALDI, headquartered in Düsseldorf, is not only experimenting with delivery vending machines but has also been testing delivery services in a limited version since the fall.
- The trend of online shopping and delivery services is not exclusive to discount chains: supermarkets like Rewe are also expanding their Click & Collect offerings, with delivery machines being a recent addition to their services.
