Supermarket chain Aldi has acknowledged it will need to begin offering an online shopping option or risk losing customers to major rivals Coles and Woolworths.

Speaking at a parliamentary inquiry on Monday, Aldi corporate affairs representative Adrian Christie said the German-owned chain had purposely resisted developing an e-commerce presence in a bid to keep grocery costs down.

Mr Christie said that stance was no longer sustainable.

“Quite right, you will see us entering that space in the future,” he said, in response to questions about competition among supermarkets.

“I think there is significant share moving into the online space.”

Coles and Woolworths dominate the supermarket retail market with a combined two-thirds share of the market in Australia, and have invested heavily in their online and delivery offerings.

Aldi is the third biggest supermarket player with around 10 per cent of the market.

Mr Christie said the challenge for Aldi was to go online while attempting to maintain its prices at between 15 and 20 per cent below those of its competitors.

Aldi was appearing at Parliament’s House Standing Committee on Economics’ inquiry into promoting economic dynamism, competition and business formation.

Beating its competitors on prices is a core offering for Aldi in Australia.

Despite it’s relatively small market share, Aldi has dominated Canstar Blue’s satisfied shopper survey for six straight years.

The most recent survey, released earlier this month, showed Aldi scored five out of five stars in every category, apart from ‘customer service’ and ‘variety of products’.

Crucially, Aldi scored the best in the ‘value for money’ and ‘deals/specials available’ categories; a significant win given the increasing financial pressure many Australians have experienced in the past year.

Simon Padovani-Ginies, Aldi Australia’s group director at the time said the chain would not be beaten on the cost of the weekly shop.

“Aldi has won a spot in the hearts and back pockets of Aussie shoppers through one simple and consistent commitment – high-quality products at the lowest prices,” he said.

“Being credited as the only five-star-rated supermarket shows our day-in, day-out commitment to deliver market-leading prices on high-quality goods is resonating with our shoppers.”