Is Aldi Stumbling?

[freeat57]

Aldi has been my go to grocery store for nearly 15 years.  In 2020/2021 they were hit with supply chain problems, but prices remained great. In 2022, they do not seem to have recovered from the supply problems. There are still numerous empty spots on shelves. Now that inflation has hit, they have raised prices more than competitors.  I have Aldi, Walmart and Kroger all very close by.  There are several staple items I buy that are now cheaper at the other stores. It was never that way before. Also, I see little to no evidence of grocery supply chain problems at W. and K.
Anyone else seeing these issues at their Aldi?

[Morning Glory]

Mine had issues a couple months ago but they seem to be fully stocked now. Sugar and the cheap apple juice were the items that were always out of stock. I was just there today and all shelves were full. Some prices have increased but some are lower here than where I used to live (e.g. cream cheese is .89 here in NC, was 1.09 in MN, makes no sense because we are further from dairies).

[Frankies Girl]

Yes to the empty spots on shelves, and a few things have increased in price but both are to be expected. Aldi may be a large and growing chain, but they're still not going to beat out the buying power and established network of a Walmart or Kroger. I fully expected the big corps to recover a bit faster, so I just keep shopping the best deals and remember to not get stuck on store loyalty. I go where the best price and stuff I need and as I'm FIREd, I can deal with a few extra trips per month instead of a one stop shopping trip. But yeah, it sucks as I do prefer Aldi.

[Cranky]

Yes, my Aldi has lots of out of stocks, but part of the problem seems to be labor. I have heard the employees discussing how short staffed they are and how that makes it hard to get stuff onto the shelves.

I’ve been interested in the issues with the Aisle of Stuff - the prices have gone up SO much, and then stuff doesn’t sell, and then it goes on clearance. I’m always calculating just how willing I am to wait to see if it goes below 50% of the original price.

[Frankies Girl]

Yes, my Aldi has lots of out of stocks, but part of the problem seems to be labor. I have heard the employees discussing how short staffed they are and how that makes it hard to get stuff onto the shelves.

I’ve been interested in the issues with the Aisle of Stuff - the prices have gone up SO much, and then stuff doesn’t sell, and then it goes on clearance. I’m always calculating just how willing I am to wait to see if it goes below 50% of the original price.

I've cleaned up like a bandit on that sort of thing. I have complete zen like patience about waiting on anything that isn't a dire need, so if the stuff I kind of really like ends up clearance for like 90% of the original price? Hell yeah. I miss the meat area's clearances tho. They used to mark them 50% or better a few days before their sell by dates, and now I rarely see more than a buck or two discount.

[freeat57]

Two weeks ago, my Aldi had only one type of fresh chicken. I think it was organic thin cut breast, which was very expensive.  There was no other chicken at all!  The frozen seafood section has been half or more empty for two years now.  I have been able to buy the wild caught salmon filets maybe twice in that time period. Walmart and Kroger have the salmon reliably.  The type of cracker I like was available sporadically, but now has disappeared entirely for months. Again the equivalent product is readily available at W. and K.  This is so frustrating!

[Rosy]

The Aldi by us is only having minor supply problems, so yes, an occasional empty spot but overall they are fine.

What has changed is that a few German week items we love have been missing entirely but even that has improved recently - it seems they are back on schedule with their seasonal and ethnic items.
The prices - well, that is debatable - some items are still great deals, other items have tripled in price like a couple of seasonal garden items.

We are near three Aldis and Mr. R. can swing by another Aldi in a different town on the way home - all of them differ. If we can't find an advertised item at one and we really want it we can usually find it at another Aldi.
We buy our favorites in bulk since we have room to store them.

Like someone mentioned I too rarely see a deep discount on one of their specials. I generally only go to the one closest to us and Mr. R. will swing by one of the others on the way home if we are keen on finding a particular item.

[Loren Ver]

The Aldi by us, major city in the midwest, seems to be holding its own. Shelves are well stocked and the prices haven't gone up nearly as much as the main competitor I shop (Meijer).  Meijer and Costco still win for meat prices, but Aldi wins for anything packaged (beans, yogurt, chips, cookies etc) as well as produce, though the quality on the produce has been hit or miss so we've been doing more Costco for consistency.   Oddly, Aldi hasn't had normal sized carrots in a while....

Loren

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

No big Aldi problems where I'm at. We also haven't had a great deal of overall supply issues, though.

[HipGnosis]

No big Aldi problems where I'm at. We also haven't had a great deal of overall supply issues, though.

Where??

[StarBright]

The Aldi by us, major city in the midwest, seems to be holding its own. Shelves are well stocked and the prices haven't gone up nearly as much as the main competitor I shop (Meijer).  Meijer and Costco still win for meat prices, but Aldi wins for anything packaged (beans, yogurt, chips, cookies etc) as well as produce, though the quality on the produce has been hit or miss so we've been doing more Costco for consistency.   Oddly, Aldi hasn't had normal sized carrots in a while....

Loren

Also in Midwest and our Aldi has been fine when I stopped in. I used to go weekly but stopped during the pandemic because our Aldi didn't have pick up at the time. They've since added instacart pick up, but I still prefer Kroger's system.

I noticed Aldi prices are way up. Eggs were .70 a dozen for a long time an now they are almost $2.00 -  but Kroger is up more (at least on the items that I buy). In general, our basics (eggs, milk, bread, yogurt, granola, seasonal fruit and veg) are still cheaper at Aldi.

[Loren Ver]

The Aldi by us, major city in the midwest, seems to be holding its own. Shelves are well stocked and the prices haven't gone up nearly as much as the main competitor I shop (Meijer).  Meijer and Costco still win for meat prices, but Aldi wins for anything packaged (beans, yogurt, chips, cookies etc) as well as produce, though the quality on the produce has been hit or miss so we've been doing more Costco for consistency.   Oddly, Aldi hasn't had normal sized carrots in a while....

Loren

Also in Midwest and our Aldi has been fine when I stopped in. I used to go weekly but stopped during the pandemic because our Aldi didn't have pick up at the time. They've since added instacart pick up, but I still prefer Kroger's system.

I noticed Aldi prices are way up. Eggs were .70 a dozen for a long time an now they are almost $2.00 -  but Kroger is up more (at least on the items that I buy). In general, our basics (eggs, milk, bread, yogurt, granola, seasonal fruit and veg) are still cheaper at Aldi.

Our Aldi eggs also when really high when everyone else's also shot up in price.  We go through a lot of eggs so this was double rough since they also put on buying limitations.  Aldi was still a little cheaper than Meijer.  Now we get Aldi or Costco (5 dozen) just depending on where we are.  The price difference  is no longer big enough to make a special trip worth while.  Same with milk for us.  I pay slightly more for milk that we manage to use up before it goes bad. 

Aldi is still the big winner for heavy whipping cream.  They no longer carry the smaller carton, only the larger so I don't get it as often.  But the price point is really good, so now those recipes can be on a more regular rotation and not splurges. 

[Cranky]

I think that out of stocks are more noticeable at Aldi because there’s only one brand of anything. At a bigger store, if one brand of spaghetti isn’t on the shelf, there are four others available. At Aldi, there’s just no spaghetti.

[Jon Bon]

I think that out of stocks are more noticeable at Aldi because there’s only one brand of anything. At a bigger store, if one brand of spaghetti isn’t on the shelf, there are four others available. At Aldi, there’s just no spaghetti.

+1

This is the correct answer.

[freeat57]

Interesting replies.  This must be a regional issue.  I'm in Atlanta.  I spoke with a friend in the Midwest, who said that they can get the Aldi Items I can't and that their Aldi is as well stocked as ever. Interestingly, my Aldi has never had many availability issues with dairy and cheeses.  The problem seems to primarily affect boxes, cans and freezer items. Hmmmm

[Tempname23]

I don't know, we have two Aldis being built in our town as I write.
 Never had one here. 6 miles and 10 miles away. Looking forward to it, shopped at one in Bradenton Florida near my daughters home.

[flyingaway]

Aldi does not seem to have price advantages anymore. Because they are a few miles away and gas price makes any price difference a small factor. We mainly shop at Kroger these days. With their digital coupons, some items can have very good price.

[getsorted]

Midwest here, our Aldi is also having tons of shortages on regular food items, short of staff, and having massive oversupply on the Aldi finds items. By Sunday night, the place is a wasteland-- the Aisle of Shame looks like a jumble sale, there's no milk, very few eggs, and forget about frozen chicken or vegetables. They are overstocked on bulky outdoor items, so there are pallets on pallet jacks in every corner.

Prices have been all over the map for the last two years. I buy a pound of ground pork every week and it goes from $1.89 to $2.59 fairly often.

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

No big Aldi problems where I'm at. We also haven't had a great deal of overall supply issues, though.

Where??

Southeast. We are having some occasional supply issues on specific things like baby formula, but food has been pretty solidly there if variable in pricing.

[JoJo]

I buy a bunch of veggies like baby carrots, cucumbers, celery, peppers, radishes, etc.  Also cereal, cottage cheese, eggs, can chili, tuna.  Aldi is up but walmart is up more on all of these items, savings at aldi are a few cents to 50 cents or more per item. 

For example, bag of 16 oz radishes at Aldi is 1.39 and it's 1.74 at walmart (and sometimes walmart only has the 10 oz size for that same price). 

[Gronnie]

We've had a lot of trouble at ours lately. Can never count on any given thing being in stock. Thankfully it's in the same area as Costco and Hy-Vee (Midwest grocery cain similar to Kroger) so it's not out of my way to go to several places.

[HipGnosis]

Midwest here, our Aldi is also having tons of shortages on regular food items, short of staff, and having massive oversupply on the Aldi finds items. By Sunday night, the place is a wasteland-- the Aisle of Shame looks like a jumble sale, there's no milk, very few eggs, and forget about frozen chicken or vegetables. They are overstocked on bulky outdoor items, so there are pallets on pallet jacks in every corner.

Prices have been all over the map for the last two years. I buy a pound of ground pork every week and it goes from $1.89 to $2.59 fairly often.

I'm in the NE corner of the midwest.   Aldi finds use to be 1/4 of an aisle.  Now it's 2 isles and a cpl aisle ends.
I also second the prices being all over lately.   The 2 ltr cokes jumped up $1.   But, so far (knock on wood), their pork roasts are a great value - so I buy a cpl a month.

[Cranky]

My aldi had no chicken of any kind yesterday, and no ground beef.

I did get a nice rug for the laundry room.

[midweststache]

Our local Aldi (major US metro area in the Midwest) is typically very well stocked, but I notice employees out stocking shelves much more frequently now - like things are flying off the shelves faster and so they stock more frequently.

That said, within walking distance I have an Aldi, a Food 4 Less, a Sam's Club and (a little more of a hike) a local full-service grocery store with the most comprehensive produce section I've ever seen (and best prices to boot); we also drive the 5 minutes out to our local Kroger when they send us their monthly "We miss you! Here's a crap ton of coupons for things you've bought in the past!" Free bagels and cottage cheese? Sure. Interestingly, I've found TARGET of all places (also in walking distance for me) has some really competitive prices on their Market Pantry / Good & Gather brand grocery items. Milk, egg whites, butter...

Essentially, Aldi really doesn't have the corner on "affordable" in our area, so the demand of current inflation rates and people grocery shopping at Aldi to keep prices down isn't having the same impact in our area as it might in other locales.

[moustachebar]

I've shopped at Aldi for about ten years and been pretty happy. I move quick in line, but not quick enough I guess. Cashiers like to throw my items, which has long been a problem. Once, a cashier was so bent on moving a cart that she dragged it over my foot as I paid.

Now...

The prices aren't always better anymore, sometimes the local grocery is cheaper.
The rate of increase is wild. 15% for ground beef is one thing, but 3x for canned vegetables is a bit much.
The prices don't justify the cost of fuel to get there from the other store I need to go to anyway (assuming .50/mile, which is probably low now).
Much of the produce is now banged up and crushed and doesn't stay good long enough to use it. Cucumbers are moldy in the case, but the broccoli now goes brown within days, and the boxed spring mix is packed in there so tight it's mangled, degraded, and inedible before it leaves the store.
The employees often enough throw my items into the cart, further damaging the produce, and causing containers to burst open and spill. Yogurt on the car carpet in the hot sun = not so good.
I could go back to shopping by bike but a yogurt trail through the neighborhood also = not great.
Each visit, one or two things I need are unavailable, so I have to go elsewhere to complete my shopping.

I am shopping there about half as often and buying less each time, because I have stocked up at the other stores before going in. So I'd say my Aldi expenditure = 1/3 what it was in 2019.

I am understanding of pandemic-related issues, I keep that in mind, and I hope they can resolve these. For the present, I avoid delays to my own schedule, being out of foods I need, higher prices, and longer trips, by minimizing my Aldi trips.

[JoJo]

Went to Aldi last night, they didn't have 3 of the 4 things that I went there for.  No carrots, celery, or cottage cheese. 

[2Birds1Stone]

Aldi in NY has had a lot of our regular staples sold out most late spring/early summer but slowly improving.

Prices however, jumped 20-50% on most of the products we regularly buy! I don't see them coming back down any time soon. Aldi used to be a clear winner in the price vs. quality department, but now it's tougher to say that.

[Cranky]

Local Aldi was a mess yesterday! Many out of stocks.

However, there were a ton of marked down candles, so we stocked up on those, and a spring décor item I’ve been watching was FINALLY marked down. I have no idea why it took 5 months for that.

Anyway, I bought fruit and a loaf of rye bread (a new regular item and very good!) I’m glad that the garden is cranking out the produce and that I have a huge selection of grocery stores to rotate through.

[getsorted]

We have two Aldis within 25 minutes of our house. The one in the rich area is always well stocked, clean and bright. The one in the poor area is always bare shelved, with light bulbs out and rotting fruit (what produce is left). The prices are the same at both.

I have four in the same radius; similar disparities. I think this happens with every store. In a college town where I used to live, the fancy Kroger was known as "Krogucci." The run-down Kroger next to the homeless shelter was known as "Kroghetto" (I know, I know), until it got revamped, when the students renamed it, "Krogentrified."

[getsorted]

Honestly, more stores should have nicknames. We have five Wal-Marts in my city; one is notorious for always smelling like cannabis. I've been trying for ages to think of a nickname for it. Suggestions welcome.

[Villanelle]

There's a Lidl near me that looks completely finished yet has been sitting with no additional progress, no signs of construction or any other work, for months.  Looking in the windows, it looks completely finished.  I wish it would open.

I wonder if Lidl is having the same supply issues as Aldi.  Or maybe Lidl has too many new stores so they are slowing down openings, staggering them instead of opening all of them, doing it...

...

Lidl by Lidl. 

[Dollar Slice]

There's a Lidl near me that looks completely finished yet has been sitting with no additional progress, no signs of construction or any other work, for months.  Looking in the windows, it looks completely finished.  I wish it would open.

We had a Lidl buy out our local supermarket (Best Market) and it took them over a year to re-open in the same spot. Even though they didn't really have to do much to the space, since it was already a perfectly functional supermarket with all the freezers and refrigerator cases and etc. 2021-2022 was really a bad time for our neighborhood to be without a decent supermarket (and I've been deeply disappointed in Lidl, so we're still without a decent supermarket...).

Honestly, more stores should have nicknames. We have five Wal-Marts in my city; one is notorious for always smelling like cannabis. I've been trying for ages to think of a nickname for it. Suggestions welcome.

I guess Wal-Green is too easy to confuse with Walgreens. Wal-Mary-Jane?

[getsorted]

I guess Wal-Green is too easy to confuse with Walgreens. Wal-Mary-Jane?

Hahahahahaha! I love it. All I could think of was "Wal-Man, it always smells like weed in here."

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

You all are making me worry about my Aldi's going downhill at some point soon. I really hope it doesn't. It's been our go to for groceries for a long time.

[eyesonthehorizon]

Honestly, more stores should have nicknames. We have five Wal-Marts in my city; one is notorious for always smelling like cannabis. I've been trying for ages to think of a nickname for it. Suggestions welcome.

Skunkmart?

[getsorted]

Honestly, more stores should have nicknames. We have five Wal-Marts in my city; one is notorious for always smelling like cannabis. I've been trying for ages to think of a nickname for it. Suggestions welcome.

Skunkmart?

Ooo, I like that even more.

[Josiecat22222]

Went to our brand-new Aldi today...pretty disappointed.  Prices are not much better than the local food lion or Kroger on sale.  There is a bunch of sad looking plastic bagged produce (which in my experience at other Aldi's goes bad quickly).  The baked goods seemed overpriced and the only aisle which appeared to be really well stocked was the snack foods!

With regard to the MJ infused WalMart....  Weedmart?

[Morning Glory]

Wal-Mellow? Is the shopping experience there any less stressful than other Walmarts because of the contact high?

Aldi is one of the only stores I can shop in without sensory overload, anxiety, and possibly migraine. Something about the acoustics+lighting in larger stores sets me on edge, and Walmart is usually the worst because of the tinny music and squeaky carts, plus lately they have inaccurate prices on the shelves (or many items with no price at all). I could handle Target where i used to live but not here because its more crowded.  The Costco here seems to always have a godawful beep in the dry goods area. I was really excited when I ran across one of the smaller neighborhood Walmarts while traveling but I had the same issue in there.

[getsorted]

Wal-Mellow? Is the shopping experience there any less stressful than other Walmarts because of the contact high?

Aldi is one of the only stores I can shop in without sensory overload, anxiety, and possibly migraine. Something about the acoustics+lighting in larger stores sets me on edge, and Walmart is usually the worst because of the tinny music and squeaky carts, plus lately they have inaccurate prices on the shelves (or many items with no price at all). I could handle Target where i used to live but not here because its more crowded.  The Costco here seems to always have a godawful beep in the dry goods area. I was really excited when I ran across one of the smaller neighborhood Walmarts while traveling but I had the same issue in there.

I feel the same way about Aldi-- it is really a more pleasant experience. I can get a week's worth of groceries in 15-20 minutes, and that's with a kid in tow. 

Long ago, I temped in the billing department of a large community mental health center and I overheard a conversation between two behavioral techs -- "The 911 call said he was in Wal-Mart, having suicidal thoughts. I mean, who hasn't walked into Wal-Mart and thought, 'I'm just gonna--' I mean, that's not an emergency, you're just having normal thoughts!"

Quality black humor, brought to you once again by reality.

[Adventine]

Aldi is my favorite place to shop for groceries too. I think the intentionally limited choices are good for me - they limit decision fatigue. I don't have to spend mental energy choosing between dozens of brands of the same item. And the smaller stores mean I don't wander around as much.


That said, I was a little frustrated for a while with my local Aldi. The sugar-free creamer and fresh chicken we needed were out of stock for several weeks. It was a hassle to go to the neighborhood Kroger, which is about twice as far and half as clean as the Aldi.

[trc4897]

Went to our brand-new Aldi today...pretty disappointed.  Prices are not much better than the local food lion or Kroger on sale.  There is a bunch of sad looking plastic bagged produce (which in my experience at other Aldi's goes bad quickly).  The baked goods seemed overpriced and the only aisle which appeared to be really well stocked was the snack foods!

With regard to the MJ infused WalMart....  Weedmart?

I don't think they always compete with other stores sale prices, but the one thing they do have at Aldi is consistently low prices. Kroger and food lion are expensive unless you exclusively shop the sales.

[ChickenStash]

I can't say I'm an Aldi fan but maybe they are better elsewhere. There are three in my area and I try to hit them up occasionally to see if anything improved but I just don't find the products or prices to be significantly better than the other stores. They also seem to have a limited selection that would make me have to shop someplace else, anyway. The cart thing

The last time I was in the Aldi closest to me the produce area smelled of death, but I'm hoping that was just a one-off, bad day. There used to be a "Neighborhood Walmart" near me that had the same problem fairly often and they eventually closed it, though. I was bummed as it was convenient with a decent selection.

[getsorted]

I can't say I'm an Aldi fan but maybe they are better elsewhere. There are three in my area and I try to hit them up occasionally to see if anything improved but I just don't find the products or prices to be significantly better than the other stores. They also seem to have a limited selection that would make me have to shop someplace else, anyway. The cart thing

The last time I was in the Aldi closest to me the produce area smelled of death, but I'm hoping that was just a one-off, bad day. There used to be a "Neighborhood Walmart" near me that had the same problem fairly often and they eventually closed it, though. I was bummed as it was convenient with a decent selection.

It really depends on whether there is decent grocery store competition in your area or not. Places that have a couple of strong supermarket chains running loss-leader sales and trying to draw each other's customers will usually out-compete Aldi. If you're in an area that's dominated by one grocery chain or just a land of Wal-Mart, Aldi prices are much better.

[Morning Glory]

I can't say I'm an Aldi fan but maybe they are better elsewhere. There are three in my area and I try to hit them up occasionally to see if anything improved but I just don't find the products or prices to be significantly better than the other stores. They also seem to have a limited selection that would make me have to shop someplace else, anyway. The cart thing

The last time I was in the Aldi closest to me the produce area smelled of death, but I'm hoping that was just a one-off, bad day. There used to be a "Neighborhood Walmart" near me that had the same problem fairly often and they eventually closed it, though. I was bummed as it was convenient with a decent selection.

It really depends on whether there is decent grocery store competition in your area or not. Places that have a couple of strong supermarket chains running loss-leader sales and trying to draw each other's customers will usually out-compete Aldi. If you're in an area that's dominated by one grocery chain or just a land of Wal-Mart, Aldi prices are much better.

We have a lidl (very similar to aldi but a bit larger) that is cheaper for some items but not others. It's a little more complicated to shop there though because you have to click coupons on their app to get the lowest prices.