Aldi has opened a store in the UK, specifically in London, with a concept similar to Amazon Go stores, where customers register upon entry, take what they need from the shelves, and leave without having to go through the checkout. Within minutes, they receive an email with the receipt, and payment is made via their associated credit card.
For now, this store is only available to the brand's employees, and is in a testing phase before its opening to the public.
Evolution of the discount model
“ We are always looking to redefine what it means to be a discount operator and the technology involved in this test provides us with a huge wealth of knowledge ,” says Giles Hurley, head of Aldi UK and Ireland.
In the British market, the chain has been developing different channels to reach consumers. Before the pandemic, it focused on the convenience format, opening stores of around 500 square meters, and during the last year it ventured into the online market, partnering with Deliveroo and offering the "click & collect" option in some of its stores.
Now, with the opening of a checkout-free store, Aldi is getting ahead of the competition, namely Tesco, which has been preparing one of its London stores for this concept for some time.
