Discount grocer Aldi on Tuesday announced it would expand its partnership with Instacart nationwide by Thanksgiving, meaning customers in the St. Louis area will soon be able to get their groceries from Aldi delivered to their homes.
Aldi began a pilot program with Instacart, which also delivers groceries from other retailers including Schnucks and Whole Foods, in 2017 and initial markets included Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles.
Aldi also announced it would begin for online orders, though cities in which the service would be initially offered were not detailed.
Aldi is in the process of renovating dozens of its St. Louis-area stores as part of a $1.6 billion nationwide overhaul of its properties. Roughly $49 million is being pumped into 37 St. Louis area stores.
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Aldi, which entered the St. Louis market in the late 1970s, is also opening several locations across the region. The grocery chain is planning a store in Kirkwood, at 1125 South Kirkwood Road, in the space previously occupied by Petco, and is moving into a former Shop ’n Save location at 3721 South Grand in Tower Grove South.
Aldi has rapidly expanded across the U.S. as it seeks to grow market share. By the end of 2018, Aldi plans to have nearly 2,000 U.S. locations, up from more than 1,600 currently.
In the St. Louis area, the grocer has nearly doubled its market share over the last two years, to about 5 percent. Schnucks is still the market leader, holding nearly 30 percent, a figure that will rise this fall as it acquires and rebrands 19 Shop ’n Save stores into Schnucks stores.
Delivery or pickup of groceries ordered online has become standard practice for chains with any scale to capture or retain market share.
Aside from Schnucks and Whole Foods, other grocers offering the service through Instacart include Fresh Thyme, Sam’s Club and Straub’s. Dierbergs offers delivery through Shipt, a subsidiary of Target.
Amazon, which acquired Whole Foods last year for $13.7 billion, allows its Prime members to receive a 10 percent discount at Missouri Whole Foods stores. Amazon is in the process of scaling its ability to offer Prime members free two-hour delivery from Whole Foods stores, although the Amazon Now service is not yet available in St. Louis.