Aldi has a radically different shopping experience than most traditional grocery stores, mostly by having smaller stores that offer a complete set of private label items affordably priced, and a weekly or seasonal rotation of variety and premium goods. The selection is much smaller so it is worse for cooking a specific recipe, but the constantly changing goods expose you to many more possibly fun ingredients and prepared foods. The steps they have taken to reduce operating costs and prices and provide a minimalist experience are worth examining.
Regular ALDI shoppers like myself understand the selection is limited but in return you get decent quality for a great discount. It's all stuff made by major manufacturers and relabeled with Aldi branding.
If you're baking cookies do you really need 8 brands of sugar? The core product line is simple, consistent and everything a typical household needs.
The one time buys and special deals make it a bit more like Costco in that respect, and some shoppers love that treasure hunt.
One of the main reasons I choose to shop at Aldi is that when I am in the store, I feel like the customer vs. feeling like the product at Kroger. Shopping at Kroger (or Walmart, etc.) feels like I am being assaulted.
Where I live Lidl has opened a large number of stores in the last few years. I find them to be much nicer than the Aldi stores in the area. Better quality produce, wider range of products and cleaner stores. They did have some supply chain issues during COVID which led them to carry more name brands vs store brands but lately the more of the store brands have started to return. I imagine Aldi did do better in this regard since their much larger size in the US would have given them higher priority with suppliers.
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[ 5.2 ms ] story [ 33.0 ms ] threadIf you're baking cookies do you really need 8 brands of sugar? The core product line is simple, consistent and everything a typical household needs.
The one time buys and special deals make it a bit more like Costco in that respect, and some shoppers love that treasure hunt.
Stores near me now have self checkout with the number of checkout stations increased and wait times decreased.