This post was last updated on July 1st, 2024 at 01:52 pm
Families are looking for simple ways to cut food costs amid some of the highest inflation we’ve experienced in a generation. In this environment, my appreciation for Aldi grocery stores has only grown. It is my favorite grocery store for finding high-quality products at the best price. Whether you’re buying grapes or extra sharp cheddar cheese, it carries just about everything you need to run your kitchen.
If you have an Aldi near you but haven’t tried it yet, I encourage you to give it a shot! Here are six reasons why I enjoy the store and think you will, too. (You’ll notice I used to have seven reasons but had to remove one because of a store change related to self-checkout lanes. See below.)
01 Frugality and efficiency on full display
I’ve never seen an Aldi cart abandoned in the parking lot, yet there’s no employee regularly handling carts. How is that possible? Aldi incentivizes customers to manage carts using an ingenious system. A gizmo attached to each cart requires you to deposit 25 cents to unlock the cart. You get that quarter back when you return your cart near the store entrance.
Admittedly, it can be a pain if you forget your quarter, and so I’ve learned to always stash a few in each of our cars. Otherwise, you’re left to get change from inside the store unless someone offers you their cart (You can “pass on” the favor by then giving your cart to someone else).
Other cost-cutting measures include no “free” bags. You either have to bring your own or pay for bags. I’m happy to absorb this cost. I simply use bags I’ve collected from other stores.
02 Awesome store layout
This item piggybacks on No. 1 but deserves its own entry. Some grocery stores are so large that you might burn half an afternoon navigating them, especially if it’s your first time there. Aldi is compact by comparison, yet it carries most staples. With the exception of a few items, such as molasses, I can find everything our family uses at Aldi.
In many product categories, the Aldi store brand is the only brand available. That might seem like a negative, but it’s actually another way Aldi is able to hold down costs. Aldi can use less shelf space than traditional grocery stores because selection is limited to its store brands, with some exceptions.
03 No coupons allowed
I didn’t know about this policy at first and learned about it years ago when I tried handing a checker a coupon for mayonnaise. She looked at me like I was a Green Bay Packers fan celebrating a Chicago Bears touchdown (or vice versa). The truth is, you don’t need coupons at Aldi because the best deals are on their store brands, which often sell for much less than name brands. In my opinion, the quality is on par with most name brands, arguably surpassing them in some cases. There are several Aldi labels, including Clancy’s, Millville, Stonemill, and SimplyNature.
Oddly, knowing I can’t use coupons is a relief. It’s one less marketing hoop to clear while trying to shop.
Read: Generic vs. name brands (How to know which to pick)
04 No rewards program, either
One of my pet peeves is the proliferation of rewards programs. It feels like just about every large retailer has some type of program, so you’re constantly feeling pressure to turn over personal information. At Aldi, there’s zero pressure because it doesn’t have a rewards program.
These programs often feel more like a punishment than a reward. Stores have turned what used to be a “sale” price into a “rewards” price. (However, I am a fan of Menards’ rebate program.) What’s worse, many stores require you to download an app to your phone, creating what I call a “digital gate” and further extracting personal information from you. I admire that Aldi doesn’t play this game.
05 Super-fast checkouts
When you see someone ahead of you in the checkout line with a cart stacked high with groceries, you know you’re in for a wait. But that’s not true at Aldi. Its checkout is lightning fast by comparison, and I think that’s for a couple reasons.
The setup is streamlined so that the checker, after scanning your groceries, places them directly into another shopping cart. Aldi has figured out how to prevent bottlenecks caused by frazzled customers dividing their attention between paying for their groceries and bagging them. At Aldi, you must move your checked-out groceries to a separate area, where you can bag them without slowing down the checkout line. Or, you can go directly to your vehicle to unload like I do.
Another factor seems to be the conspicuous placement of barcodes on Aldi-brand packaging. Checkers don’t have to hunt for these symbols to scan them. They’re everywhere. For example, on a box of Aldi-brand (Millville) corn flakes, I counted nearly 20 inches of barcode displayed across four sides of the box. A 5-year-old would have no trouble scanning this product.
06 No self-checkouts
UPDATED July 1, 2024: Unfortunately, I can no longer include No. 6 in this list anymore. As of 2023, Aldi introduced self-checkout lanes at many stores. I can’t speak for every store, but the rollout was a flop at our local store here in southern Wisconsin. The reason self-checkout lanes don’t work at Aldi is because of reason No. 5: The checkers are lightning fast.
When I go to Aldi, I typically fill up my cart. I rarely go there for just “a couple of things,” and checking out a full cart of groceries in a self-checkout lane would take much longer than having a checker do it. In the case of our store, Aldi replaced all the checker lanes but one with self-checkout lanes. This created a situation of multiple people waiting in the checker lane with nobody wanting to use the self-checkout.
I complained about this new setup, and apparently I wasn’t alone. Within a few months, Aldi added back a checker lane and removed some of the self-checkouts. There are still several self-checkout lanes, but I avoid them. They might save Aldi money, but they don’t save me time!
06 Twice As Nice Guarantee
If you’re not “100% satisfied” with the quality of any Aldi-brand product, the store will “gladly replace the product AND refund your money,” according to its website. It’s reassuring to know the company has a high-level of confidence in its products. For the record, I’ve used the guarantee only once. I had purchased a disposable peppercorn grinder and it busted. I returned it and received a new grinder, though not a refund (perhaps because I didn’t have the receipt). Still, I was satisfied.
Aldi offers the best value proposition
One of the things that makes Aldi so great is it knows what type of company it is. There’s no question that providing value is its top priority. (And maximizing value is Frugalmatic’s top priority!) No other store in my experience has put together a better combination of service, product quality, and price. I don’t know what exactly explains the company’s knack for creating value (maybe its German roots). Whatever the reason, it works. It’s my favorite grocery store, an ideal place to shop, especially in an inflationary environment.