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Curbside pickup is growing in popularity. Most of our favorite grocery stores are already hopping on it. These pandemic-ridden times have called for the opportunity to provide safer shopping options for customers.
Instead of going into an overcrowded grocery store where your health will be compromised, you can park outside. In seconds, your groceries will be brought down to you. It’s as simple as that.
In our previous article, “How does Walmart pickup work?“, we got to see behind-the-scenes of the store’s pickup process. Today’s piece will show you the ropes of how to order Aldi pickup.
Does Aldi have grocery pick up?
Aldi now offers a curbside pickup option. So shoppers who’d rather wait outside than go into a crowded grocery store can use it. The service is available to over 2,000 Aldi stores spread out across the United States of America.
The service, along with the home delivery option, is powered by Instacart since Aldi doesn’t do deliveries. So the Instacart and Aldi partnership allows Aldi customers to be able to place orders online, and even receive their orders at home.
How does Aldi curbside pickup work
Aldi curbside pickup is very simple. You place an order online, Aldi notifies you when your order is ready, then you drive to your selected location and pick it up.
Unfortunately, the service isn’t free. While stores like Walmart allow free access to their curbside pickup services, Aldi charges a small fee.
If you place an order for items under $35, you’ll need to pay a service fee of $3.99. If your order is above $35, then you should expect to pay $1.99.
To help you understand the process, we’ve broken it down into three steps below:
Step #1: Create an Aldi account
If you haven’t already, create an Aldi account with your email address. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. This will require email verification, which would take time. But there are faster options.
You can create an account when checking out your items by connecting your existing Google account with the Aldi store. Alternatively, you can connect your Facebook account with Aldi.
Step #2: Order groceries online
To order Aldi pickup, you must first purchase something from the online store. To do that, visit Aldi’s online storefront. It’s powered by Instacart, so if you opt for home delivery, an Instacart driver will bring your groceries to your doorstep.
Switch the “Delivery” option to “Pickup“. Then select an Aldi store close to you from the list of stores.
Search for the items you want to buy. E.g. maraschino cherries, mustard, etc. You should see brand variations of the items you want to buy. Make your choice by clicking or tapping on the item. This should take you to the product’s information page.
A faster option would be to tap the “+” sign beside the product to quickly add it to your virtual cart. You’ll have to make a minimum order of $10 before you can checkout.
When you’ve accumulated items worth that amount or over, click on your cart.
If you need to delete any item or leave special instructions for your personal shopper, now’s the time. Once you’ve done that, click “Go to checkout“.
Choose a pickup time that’s convenient for you. Then enter your phone number into the space provided. Also, fill in your payment details. Then finally, tap the “Place order” option.
You should get a confirmation text or email informing you that your order is being processed. When it’s ready, you will get a notification to pick it up from the store.
Step #3: Pick up your order
Once you get a notification to come by the store and pick up your order, drive to your designated Aldi store.
Aldi has a special parking lot reserved for pickup shoppers. So you can park there instead of the regular parking lot. Just look out for blue-painted parking spaces and sign boards.
Follow the instructions sent to you via text or within the Aldi app to notify your personal Aldi shopper that you’re around. Shortly after, they will approach your car to deliver your groceries.
And that’s it! You’ve just learnt how to order Aldi pickup.
How much do you tip Aldi pickup staff?
You can’t tip Aldi pickup staff or associates. The store’s policy strictly prohibits tipping Aldi employees, including personal shoppers handling pickup orders.
However, if you were to opt for home delivery, you can tip the delivery driver. The reason is because the delivery driver works for Instacart, not Aldi.
Unlike Aldi, Instacart’s policies don’t prohibit tipping. The grocery delivery service even has tipping features set up on its online sales channels. So you can choose to or not to tip the drivers.
What happens if you miss your Aldi pickup?
If you missed your pickup time, don’t panic. Aldi will keep your groceries waiting for you until the last pickup window elapses. The pickup window simply refers to the hours in a day when Aldi is free to accept pickup orders and make deliveries. E.g. 12 PM to 2 PM, 2 PM to 4 PM, etc.
When there are too many orders coming in, the pickup windows will no longer be visible online. This means that Aldi is currently handling too many orders and can’t accept yours at the time.
You’d have to wait until a pickup window opens up before you can place your order. If you miss all pickup windows for the day, then your order will be cancelled.
Now you know how to order Aldi pickup. We have more grocery store guides where that came from. Check them out below!
- When does Aldi restock?
- How does Aldi pickup work?
- Aldi hours today near me
- Do Aldi employees get a discount?
Irene is a Freelance content writer who helps professionals and startups build an audience with original content online. She has written over +100 articles, and is backed up by 3 years experience. She loves gaming and listening to music, while she’s not tapping furiously on her laptop.