Aldi denies plans to invest in e-commerce
Aldi UK said on Friday that e-commerce was "not an immediate" priority for the group, denying reports that it was planning to enter the online grocery world.
The discount supermarket said in a statement that "e-commerce is not an immediate focus for Aldi as we currently have the best performing business model in the grocery sector. However, it is an area we monitor as part of our customer-focused approach".
The announcement follows reports from the German trade journal Lebensmittel Zeitung that Aldi was preparing to launch an online store in the UK and in other countries.
Aldi has said in the past that online grocery sales were not profitable enough particularly in terms of logistics for fresh and frozen products deliveries.
Aldi and Lidl now account for 10% of the UK grocery market, Nielsen said last month. Aldi saw its sales rise 17.3% during the twelve weeks to the end of January after spending £4.5m on TV and press ads.
Overall, online grocery sales are expected to grow by 18.4% in 2015, according to the Centre for Retail Research.