Lidl wants to start delivering by bike in more Belgian cities. In Ghent, it has now delivered 25,000 groceries by bike.
For years, the supermarket discounter only sold non-food products on its website. Six months ago, however, it started delivering daily groceries in Ghent. To this end, it launched the webshop Lidl Simpl.
Customers who place an order in Ghent will get their online groceries delivered by bike within two hours, with Lidl working with bicycle courier service Cargo Velo.
25,000 groceries
Some 25,000 groceries have already been delivered by bike since its launch, which Lidl says accounts for 15,000 kilometres without CO2 emissions. "Already from day two it was all hands on deck. Meanwhile, we are seasoned," says spokeswoman Isabelle Colbrandt. "We have extra staff, three to four people, who are busy collecting the groceries." They do not collect the order at a distribution centre but at one of the Lidl branches in Ghent.
Lidl still charges shipping costs
The service is now such a success that Lidl is considering expanding to other Belgian cities, writes Metro. It will charge for the delivery, however. Previously, customers did not have to pay shipping costs for orders over 25 euros. Now each customer pays 3.99 euros. "In return, we did expand the range. Customers now make larger orders, so the price does not seem to deter them," the spokeswoman said.
The supermarket chain is still investigating which cities it wants to expand to.
