I like shopping at Aldi, but its complicated curbside pickup process made me rethink my relationship with the store

byAxis Digital •Friday, April 29, 2022

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Curbside pickup got a major boost at the onset of the pandemic as customers avoided going into stores.

Two years later, in 2022, curbside pickup remains popular with shoppers, showing no signs of going away.

Source: eMarketer

I visited my local Aldi in Rochester, New York to test out the chain's curbside pickup option that I'd see advertised.

In a recent price comparison, I found Aldi has lower prices than competing stores on nearly every product, so I wanted to see how its curbside pickup stacked up.

Source: Insider

I downloaded the Aldi app, where one of the first options I saw was curbside pickup.

Clicking the link took me out of the Aldi app and directed me to the company's website on a web browser.

The website was fairly intuitive to use, although at first I was confused at being unable to change the pickup time.

Groceries were divided into the categories I expected, like vegetables, fruits, meat, and dairy.

It even included a section with "Aldi Finds," featuring items beloved by customers which the chain switches out regularly.

Some categories didn't have very many options. I like to buy larger 18-count egg containers, but that wasn't an option at Aldi.

After finalizing everything else, I finally got to pick my grocery pickup time. There were so many slots available, as soon as within just two hours after I ordered.

Aldi sent me 14 total texts between my order and pickup, which felt a bit excessive.

It was somewhat difficult to communicate with my shopper in real time. Even when I responded almost immediately to address a product substitution, it wasn't fast enough.

At my pickup time, I went to Aldi and checked in online, which was quite slow and kept crashing.

This location has four designated curbside spots near the side of the parking lot.

The spots were marked with signs, so it was very clear where to go.

I checked in by indicating my parking spot and car color.

When you check in, the website provides a summary of the information you've entered, and an estimate of remaining wait time.

The progress bar reminded me of the Domino's tracker, which similarly gives updates on what the worker is doing with your order at the moment.

Aldi definitely erred on the side of over-communicating, sending multiple messages about my pickup window closing, and alerting me when the worker was preparing my order.

The Aldi employee came to my car about when the tracker predicted, and placed bags in my trunk.

The bags were all labeled with my name and number, which made it seem like a very organized process, and they didn't forget any of my items.

Ultimately, I liked the idea of Aldi curbside pickup more than I did the execution.

Aldi's stock changes regularly, and the website doesn't seem to update consistently to reflect current offerings.

I also wish the app itself worked better, with the capability to do the grocery order right there instead of in a separate browser.

The entrance of an Aldi supermarket seen in High Point,

The pickup experience wasn't bad, but it was tedious and more inconvenient than I'd expected.

I'm still a huge fan of Aldi, but next time I'll probably just go inside myself.

Do you have a story to share about a retail or restaurant chain? Email this reporter at mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com.

Via PakApNews

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