This week saw budget supermarket chain, Aldi, finally enter the race to become one of the UK’s top online grocery retailers, although for the time being, its e-commerce offering is strictly limited to selling wine, according to the Independent.

Customers will be able to buy cases of wine via safe shopping online, with 90 different wines represented at launch. And while each case can contain six bottles of the same wine as standard, the retailer also gives shoppers the option to choose a mixture of red, white, rose and sparkling varieties from a number of global regions.

Aldi spokesperson, Matthew Barnes, explained that his firm had spent £35 million to launch its e-commerce platform, with this being seen as the next step for the retailer as it attempts to capitalise on its bricks and mortar success.

Barnes also said that wine was being chosen as a launch pad for its site offering safe shopping online because this was often the element that drew people into its real world stores for the first time.

Orders over £50 will not be subjected to a delivery fee, but anyone looking to spend less than this will need to pay £3, to cover the cost of getting the wine to their doorstep.

Aldi reported a 20.6 per cent rise in sales in the final three months of 2015 and now claims to be accountable for 10 per cent of the groceries market in the UK. And now that it is dipping its toe into the world of e-commerce, its established rivals like Tesco and Sainsbury’s could be getting nervous.

Of course, there is a big difference between shipping boxes of wine to customers and ensuring that they get fresh produce delivered to their homes, so Aldi’s next step will be tougher to climb.