Caitlyn Pratt is an avid Aldi shopper, so much so that she crosses state lines several times a month, driving 45 minutes from her home in Heavener, Oklahoma, to the nearest Aldi in neighboring Arkansas.
She doesn’t mind the distance if it means she can do these three things: stay on budget for her household needs, avoid Walmart, and, most importantly, indulge in a fun, affordable little scavenger hunt in a place that Aldi superfans have dubbed it the “aisle of shame.”
Aldi, a private company German discount grocer which touts a Walmart-style sales pitch of everyday low prices, has been in the United States since 1976, when it opened its first store in Iowa. It operates more than 2,000 stores nationwide and 12,000 stores worldwide.
Inside each Aldi store is a single aisle of merchandise that mostly has nothing to do with groceries. The retailer describes it as “a rotating assortment of specialty items available for a very limited time.” It could be a garden hammock or a furry sweater for your dog. The prices are surprising, with many of these items costing just a few dollars.
Aldi calls it the “Aldi Finds” aisle. Superfans have a more colorful alternative: “the aisle of shame.”
Shoppers new to the grocery chain might think it’s a hodgepodge of randomly selected products placed on shelves, sometimes spilling onto the floor after a wave of customers descends one Wednesday morning and headed to the only article that went viral that week. But often, products are carefully selected and seasonally timed to meet what customers are already looking for.
The Wednesday rush can often be blamed on die-hard Aldi shoppers, 3 million of whom are members of the very active Aldi Aisle of Shame. the Facebook page and frequently post about their final walks of shame.
Pratt is one of them. She readily admits that the aisle of shame is as much of a catalyst for her as Aldi’s notoriously low prices – which research found can be up to 15% cheaper than a Walmart in some markets – to get her to make those monthly 42-mile Aldi trips in her car.
Temptation Alley
Pratt, who has been shopping Aldi for more than 12 years, loves Aldi so much that she avoids going to a Walmart supercenter just 15 minutes from her home at all costs.
“When you go to a Walmart and you’re looking for a can of green beans, you have 18 different options. At Aldi, there is one, and maybe another. I can go in and out and get exactly what I need without spending forever,” Pratt said.
When she finishes her grocery list, she heads to the middle aisle to score a bargain or two on a variety of other items.
Aldi finds can include shovels, plastic garden gnomes, patio rugs, patio furniture (depending on the season), candles, bedding sets, greeting cards, sneakers, lighting , pet beds, clothing, exercise equipment and kitchenware at a surprisingly low price. prices.
Some items, like sneakers, replace name brands and cost $13 a pair.
The miscellaneous mix is renewed every week, generally on Wednesdays. “Fans love our ALDI Finds aisle because it takes the average grocery trip from errand to adventure,” the company said in an email to CNN.
Pratt said his area has its own ironic descriptor for the alley.
“In the South we call it ‘shit alley,'” she joked. “Because on unnecessary things, I probably spend about $150 at Aldi every time I go there,” Pratt said. “I get so much crap for $150, half of which is not groceries.”
These purchases included outdoor rugs, patio sets, planters, lanterns, candles, kitchenware, pillows, pet beds and pet clothing. “When my friends come to my house, they don’t even ask me where I have new things anymore. They know it’s Aldi,” Pratt said.
Aldi, describing the process behind stocking the aisle of shame, said a team of trend experts and shoppers spot growing product trends and “source the best products at the lowest prices possible.”
“It often takes ALDI nine months, or less, to deliver relevant items faster than its competitors,” he said, and that includes food items, like a Seafood Boil that he tested in the aisle shame last summer., and which the company plans to bring back this year.
One item from the aisle of shame — a $13 sparkly wrap dress — had quite a viral moment last fall and was featured in numerous media outlets, including Hello America, after shoppers flooded social media with photos of the versatile dress that seemed to complement a variety of body types. However, it is unknown if this product will be restocked.
Britney Henderson, who lives just north of Atlanta, Georgia, recently purchased a pair of bamboo pendant lights from Aldi for $9 each for her bedroom and quickly posted about them on the Facebook group Aisle of Shame.
Like Pratt, she shops at Aldi two or three times a month. It’s a 30-minute drive for her, but she generally prefers the quality and prices of groceries at Aldi compared to other discount supermarkets, including Walmart.
Before her travels, she keeps up to date with recent posts on the Aisle of Shame Facebook page.
“If something pops up on there and I think, oh my God, I must have this, I try to get to the store as soon as possible. If you don’t, it’s gone,” she said, sharing that she wore shoes she also purchased at Aldi during the interview. One item she couldn’t snag was the viral wrap dress of 2022.
Sometimes she tries to avoid the aisle when she’s adamant about staying on budget, but it’s a struggle.
“I’m almost embarrassed by it,” Henderson said.
A low-cost juggernaut
Aldi wants to saturate the American landscape – from small towns to big cities – with its small, efficient, no-frills, lowest-price hybrid stores. And that poses a growing competitive threat to other retailers like Walmart, Target and Costco.
“Stores offer limited assortments, heavily focused on private label products. Their overall message to customers is: “We make things more efficient and curate an assortment for you so you don’t have to pay all those extra costs,” said John Clear, senior director of the consumer and marketing group. retail of Global Consulting. Alvarez & Marsal firm.
It’s ideal positioning for the current state of the American consumer, he said. “It’s a clear, succinct message for the times we live in, where customers are at their wit’s end, both because their wallets are tight and they’re short on time,” Clear said.
The chain ticks two boxes for shoppers: affordable, low-price, good quality groceries and an efficient shopping experience without an overwhelming product choice in department stores, “so it allows shoppers to come in and to get out quickly more easily,” he said. It helps if stores have fewer than a dozen aisles.
In March, the company announced plans to expand its footprint by adding another 800 stores nationwide by 2028, in addition to the more than 2,300 stores already present in the United States.
“Our growth is fueled by our customers, and they are demanding more ALDI stores in their neighborhoods nationwide,” Aldi CEO Jason Hart said in a statement. “With up to 40% savings on groceries, new customers are enticed to try us and existing customers keep coming back. “
The aisle of shame also serves a strategic business purpose. Although Aldi declined to disclose its annual U.S. or global sales, Clear estimates that 10 to 15 percent of annual sales, and “several multiples of that,” contribute to profit margins just from in-store purchases. alleys of shame.
“The way I think about that middle aisle is, traditionally, customers spent a lot of time shopping outside the store, which is frozen, refrigerated, fresh, frozen,” Clear said, adding that these sections tend to be lower margin areas.
“Products like milk and eggs, flour and sugar are increasing (shopper) frequency due to Aldi’s low prices,” he said. However, stores generally don’t make big profits on low-margin products unless they sell a large quantity of them.
Aldi Finds items, combined with Aldi’s more expensive private label grocery offerings (which make up 80-90% of groceries) like olive oil, however, tend to be more profitable.
Products in the aisle of shame are add-ons that increase profits, Clear said. “These are plastics and textiles that they import directly from abroad. »
“Customers who come in and only buy milk and eggs are not great for Aldi. Nobody really makes any money from it,” he said. “The customer who comes once or twice a week must also collect other products. This is where this radius of shame fits in and helps Aldi offer low prices overall.”
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