Aldi is testing a different operating model for rapid grocery delivery in the UK: riders will do the in-store picking. đź›’
From 6 October, Aldi and Deliveroo will trial “Shop & Deliver” across eight stores.
Customers will be able to order around 2,000 products, while participating riders use the Deliveroo app to locate and scan items, flag unavailable products, pay with a virtual Rider Card and complete the delivery. Aldi says a wider launch is planned for early 2027.
The important point is not simply that another supermarket is joining a delivery app. The model shifts picking away from store colleagues and into the courier workflow, potentially giving a retailer without its own large delivery operation a faster route into on-demand commerce.
But this is still a pilot, not proof of scale. The retailer-relevant questions are substitution quality, stock accuracy, pick time, economics, rider experience and whether the process can expand without disrupting stores. 📦
Could rider-led fulfilment become a practical route into quick commerce for more value-focused retailers?
