I guess I'm a weirdo who likes shopping there. Compared to Kroger or HEB I usually walk out of Aldi with a bill 50% cheaper than the other stores. We have our own bags and a picnic like basket thing we keep in the truck for Aldi stops. Yes it's "generic" but my uncle worked for a big food company that made big brand food and "generic" is often just a label change over the brand name. I can see why the rich people would think it's like shopping for food at the salvation army. No selection, a quarter to get a cart, 4-6 isles, no in car delivery, you have to bag your stuff yourself. I'll take all of those inconveniences if it means I spend 50% less per trip to the grocery store to feed us.
Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
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Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#32It appears that the dupe filter missed this one. Can we merge with https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19939376 ?
The domain is different.
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#33I think the point that this article drove home to me is that a lot of Aldi's "bare bones" mentality actually leads to a better experience for most shoppers, even separate from the lower prices. For example, the comment from a customer about the store layout making it easier to get in and out with kids in tow. The Aldi store brands have a reputation for good quality without the "50 kinds of salsa" paralysis of choice.…
The "50 kinds of salsa" paralysis is so real. Some shops have a great selection, everything looks tasty, exciting, worthwhile to buy but you can only buy so much. In Lidl, there is no problem of choice, because much less to choose from, you are relieved from having to choose. I prefer it for staples.
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#34I like them. Quick to find items and quick to check out. Sure, the selection isn't the best, but I can find most everything I need.
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#35Aldi is famous for paying managers a lot of money. Far more than similar roles at other grocery stores. Not just 10% more, but in many cases 100% more.
Perhaps paying extra money for better brains leads to better decisions being made in the long run.
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#36IMO, what Aldi succeeds in is doing more with less. Aldi's aisles, stores, and product ranges are smaller compared to big grocery stores. However, Aldi leverages a 'curated assortment' of products to offer good quality items at a lower price than other grocery stores. There's also 1 "Aldi Finds" aisle in the stores which seems like it's to beta test potential items or offer short-term deals on limited items (? - just…
The 'curated assortment' bit is interesting. If I go into my local Tesco, which isn't a huge ones, they've got about 15 types of coleslaw. The Lidl has 2. But they're nice ones. The cheapest is not awful, like the cheap Tesco one. The most expensive isn't ridiculously priced, but it is superb. Baked beans - one type at Lidl, their own brand, but it's nicer than Heinz these days. The dishwasher tablets are half the pr…
I was happy when they opened a lidl half way between my home and the local massive asda, I can go get the few bits I need from ASDA then hit lidl on the way back for the majority.
LIDL's meat is amazing compared to asda's and they get a lot of cheese and stuff off the continent making it excellent quality for less than ASDA sells a block of bright orange 'Red Leicester'.
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#37' And at checkout, cashiers hurry shoppers away, expecting them to bag their own groceries in a separate location away from the cash register.'
Food4Less in the central valley of CA have done that for years. They are pretty cheap too.
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#38I guess I'm a weirdo who likes shopping there. Compared to Kroger or HEB I usually walk out of Aldi with a bill 50% cheaper than the other stores. We have our own bags and a picnic like basket thing we keep in the truck for Aldi stops. Yes it's "generic" but my uncle worked for a big food company that made big brand food and "generic" is often just a label change over the brand name. I can see why the rich people wou…
The problem for me with Aldi in The Netherlands is that most of the stuff I buy there are so salty, it just tastes bad.
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#39For some, I think the low cost is a reason to shop at Aldi, but I found the experience too brutal. It was like shopping at a Goodwill grocery store, too tedious for me.
For me it's not the cost and the 'brutal' is what I want, products stay where they where the last time you where in, the signage is clear and the product choice is decent cheap, good and not expensive.
It's basically what I want a shop to be, somewhere to buy stuff not an 'experience'.
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#40I guess I'm a weirdo who likes shopping there. Compared to Kroger or HEB I usually walk out of Aldi with a bill 50% cheaper than the other stores. We have our own bags and a picnic like basket thing we keep in the truck for Aldi stops. Yes it's "generic" but my uncle worked for a big food company that made big brand food and "generic" is often just a label change over the brand name. I can see why the rich people wou…
The article does cover all these points about well-off people shopping there, too. In fact, it points out that "Aldi’s core shopper tends to make more money and have a slightly higher education level than the overall grocery shopper".