Aldi rules out online shopping in Australia, blaming costs for decision to close its online department

If you want to shop at Aldi, you will need to visit the store in person.

That’s the message from the German supermarket giant’s managing director of buying Jordan Lack, who said it has abandoned plans to launch the grocery store online.

Mr Lack told The Australian Financial Review that Aldi had no immediate plans to follow Woolworths and Coles into online grocery shopping.

He confirmed that Aldi closed its online department in 2023. Mr Lack said the decision had been made to keep prices as low as possible for shoppers.

“The greater concern is the impact on cost structure as fundamentally keeping our costs low has a direct impact on the prices we can offer our customers,” Mr Lack told the publication.

Aldi currently only offers its specials catalogue on its Australian website, with no opportunity to have groceries for click and collect or delivery.

An Aldi spokesperson previously told Nine News that its “streamlined business model that is focused on simplicity” was one of the main reasons it was one of the cheapest supermarkets in Australia.

Recent research from consumer group Choice found that Aldi had the lowest prices of the major supermarkets.

In WA, Choice reported Coles was the most expensive at $70.78, Woolworths coming in next at $69.29 and Aldi at $52.52, with an average of $64.19, or $62.69 when specials were used.

Aldi was named 2024 Supermarket of the Year by Roy Morgan.