Aldi-Onlineshop.de Shuts Down Due to Low Competitiveness and Profitability

The week has barely begun, and the industry is already buzzing. Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd are shutting down their joint online store aldi-onlineshop.de in German eCommerce at the end of September.

The announcement hit the headlines early today, Monday, so we at ECDB dug into our extensive data on the online discounter market to provide you with an exclusive insight into Aldi's competitive positioning in the market.

Aldi-Onlineshop.de Lacks Profitability and Competitiveness

Aldi’s online shop aldi-onlineshop.de is positioned at the lower end of the eCommerce spectrum in the German market: Its net sales were low in 2024, below the US$50 million mark, while it also experienced degrowth of -4.3% from 2023 to 2024.

Compared to its closest competitors, Netto (netto-online.de), Rewe (rewe.de), Kaufland (kaufland.de) and Lidl (lidl.de), aldi-onlineshop.de clearly lags behind – What are the reasons?

First and foremost, profitability is key. Given the low revenue generation and the high cost of maintaining an online store, including delivery, inventory and marketing, the cost was simply not worth it.

The online market is a highly competitive environment, and when direct competitors clearly outperform an online store in every way, it usually means trouble is on the horizon.

The development raises the question of how viable an eCommerce approach can be for a company whose differentiator is low prices in a physical store environment. Aldi’s online store offers free delivery on orders from €50 upwards. Given that many customers may not even reach this amount when browsing for products, the competition may just be the better choice: Grocery at Rewe, Electronics at MediaMarkt, and everything else at Amazon or Otto. What’s the big deal?

The low CVR of aldi-onlineshop.de of 0.9% in 2024 confirms that this may be the case.

Aldi.us Performs Much Better Due to More Convenience

Aldi is a German company, but its reach is global. Therefore, the recent changes only affect its German online store. Its online shop in the U.S. (aldi.us) and the UK (aldi.co.uk) have a better outlook – although it should be noted aldi.co.uk’s net sales have dropped significantly in 2024. The U.S. online store is growing, however, and has a much higher CVR of 3.8%.

The reasons for this may lie in the customer service offered by aldi.us vs. aldi-onlineshop.de. The former offers immediate delivery in cooperation with DoorDash, which has become very common in U.S. eCommerce. It may simply be easier for U.S. customers to receive their orders online than to visit the store in person, which is the competitive factor eCommerce needs to thrive compared to physical retail.