Until now, the hard discounter Aldi has mainly steered clear of the advances in supermarket technology, such as self-scanners and till-less stores. However, change seems to be on its way now – at least at Aldi Süd.
Brand registration for “Shop&Go”
The British Retailweek based its argumentation on a trademark registration which Aldi filed in the United Kingdom for a “Shop&Go” format. The magazine says it has information that this could relate to a till-less store format that will compete with Amazon Fresh.
The e-commerce giant’s concept has only just arrived in the UK but is expanding rapidly. Although a discounter such as Aldi does not necessarily have to be at the forefront of technological developments in supermarkets, this trademark registration can be seen as an indication that Aldi Süd has no intention of letting Amazon stop them from bringing home the bacon.
Not immediately Belgium’s or the Netherlands’ turn
However, the trademark registration lacks details to state with certainty that this is a till-less store format. Another option is that Aldi Süd is working on a system of in-store self-scanners, Retailweek admits.
Whatever it is, something is moving at Aldi. It is not clear whether we will soon notice anything of it in our region: the Aldi stores in Belgium and the Netherlands belong to the Aldi Nord empire, which in principle has little to do with Aldi Süd. However, after they went their separate ways in 1961, following a dispute, there has been a rapprochement between the two groups in recent years.
