Aldi Offers These Interesting Services … But Not in the United States
Aldi is a lean, rather mean, grocery machine. The German supermarket is aggressive, disciplined, and generally laser focused on being a profitable retailer with low prices. We can’t argue with the formula: it’s done nothing but make Aldi one of the most formidable grocery empires in the world. Because Aldi doesn’t sell stock, it can think long-term in ways many other supermarkets can’t.
Despite that lean approach, we’re generally happy with a lot of what Aldi in the United States offers, from its low prices to its ever rotating stock of Aldi Finds (Special Buys). We’re even glad to see a few frills like curbside pickup and delivery (albeit through Instacart) emerge in recent years.
What’s interesting, though, is how Aldi isn’t entirely uniform in its services worldwide. Aldi US is a subsidiary of Aldi Süd, one of the two Aldi companies internationally. While Aldi Süd’s operations in various countries do have some things in common, like some common products, there are differences, too, especially when it comes to services.
Here are three examples of perks you can get from Aldi Süd in Europe, Asia, or Australia, but not in the United States.
Europe: Travel Booking Services
Did you ever wish Aldi offered you the chance to book all-inclusive trips all over the world? No? Well, Aldi shoppers in Europe must have, because some Aldi subsidiaries in Europe — including Aldi Hungary, Aldi Germany, and Aldi Switzerland — offer just such a service. (Aldi Germany’s service is a joint venture of the two Aldi companies, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd.) Whether you want a cruise in Europe or even an excursion to the United States, they can do that.
China: Online Ordering and Postal Shipping
Aldi first launched in China back in 2019. There are only a handful of stores in China right now, so for the most part, if you live in China and want Aldi, you have to order in the mail. Aldi partners with several online providers in China to deliver goods across the country.
As a side note: Aldi also used to sell some of its limited buys online in the United Kingdom, but it discontinued that program in 2023.
Europe and Australia: Prepaid Mobile Services
If you ever wished you had the ability to buy a cell phone plan from your friendly neighborhood Aldi … well, there are some Aldi answers for that, including Aldi Australia, Aldi in Germany, and Aldi Switzerland. In Australia, for example, the mobile plan is known as ALDIMobile and is administered by Lenovo subsidiary Medion, which occasionally brings (non-cellular) technology to the United States. Australian plans start at $19 Australian dollars (or $12.33 in U.S. dollars) at the bottom, and a 175GB plan with rollover options at the top.
