A report published today by Verdict Research predicts a surge in discount grocers in Britain. Verdict Research says discounters like privately owned German groups Aldi and Lidl should raise as much finance as possible to aggressively expand in markets where they are under-represented.
This could be good news for the thrifty, middle class shopper - no more need to venture outside one’s turf to areas one would not normally set foot into but which have become a weekly destination because they have a Lidl or Aldi.
There are signs that no-frills discount stores are being embraced by all socio-economic groups in Britain. Surveys by consumer group Which? show that Aldi and Lidl score higher than Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons.
But mainstream stores are trying to claw back customers - Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s announced they’re going to implement a cut in VAT three days early on a range of goods, and Marks & Spencer is planning a repeat of last week’s flash sales.
What will you do? Stick to your tried and trusted High Street stores or cut your losses and shop where it’s cheapest?
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28 comments so far
well what a surprise!i have been shopping at netto/aldi/lidl for about 5 years plus and always good value.it makes me wonder how the”BIG GUNS”have survived if shoppers are sensible enough.also makes me wonder how the big guns can charge a lot more for same goods than the prev i stated and be allowed.perhaps a lot of suppliers will not be under so much pressure to do as the majors tell them to do?hope aldi etc expand well and well deserved to.
- Posted by martdukeyes i do, went into one and found it had many of the things in tesco, and many of the brand name groceries anyway but they were simply a lot cheaper. tesco was selling one tin of beans for 87p!
- Posted by nickThe way to use Aldi/Lidl is to go there first. select their cheap items from your requirements and then go on to Sainsbury/Tesco/Asda for the rest of your needs.
- Posted by David ButlerI have always enjoyed shopping at the discount stores. No expensive shelf racking, header boards and displays to contend with. No ‘background’ music. Reasonably priced items. Cash back. Easy to park. The only drawback now is that so many people are using them that the queues ast the check out are longer!
- Posted by Delia MackenzieMy wife and I have been loyal Tesco shoppers for over 25 years and occasional Sainsbury shoppers as well, however for the last 8 weeks, we have very happily done all of our weekly shopping at Aldi and Lidl and topping up with bargains at our local Morrisons.
We are highly delighted with both the pricing and quality of product at both Aldi and Lidl, we are saving a small fortune every week on our food shopping, I reckon just about every single item we buy is on average 40p less than that we normally purchased in Tesco and it’s such a delight / revelation not to be constantly bombarded with an excessive number of product offerrings and highly over-inflated product pricings at Tesco, we now only realise we have been massively ripped off and brainwashed for over 25 years now.
No longer do we see prices upped by approx 50p to pay for promotional and bogof items, no longer do we see wine advertised at supposed retail prices often £3.00 higher than the usual retail price only to con people into thinking they are getting half price product offerrings or price reductions of £3.00 or more.
We regard ourselves as middle class semi- professional thrifty shoppers, we are now fully committed Aldi and Lidl shoppers, we have not been back to Tesco even once for the last 8 weeks, it is most unlikely we will ever go back. I would like to believe we are not alone rather think that hundreds of thousands of persons are changing allegiance to Aldi and Lidl every week, fully justified and nothing more than they both deserve.
- Posted by IanI have been using Lidl for ages, and considering their jars of roasted peppers are about 70p and Tesco charge about £3, why would I go anywhere else. The only downside is there lack of checkout people.
- Posted by LazzerSorry to disagree with the other comments, but my experience of Aldi and Lidl is that it would be impossible to do a weekly shop at either of them. While prices are very good, in my opinion the quality (taste etc) is not.
- Posted by johnI’ll stay with Tesco for the vast majority of items. Discounters are unlikely to offer sufficient of the healthiest products given their limited product ranges e.g. items low in added sugar, salt, artificial sweeteners, high in unsaturated (Omega 3) fats or offering a wide range of organic fruit, vegetables, dairy & meat which taste better and are also lower in pesticide residues. They are also unlikely to stock quality branded products e.g. high quality dark chocolates, quality spreads, teas and coffees etc.
In conclusion, you may save money but the long term health effects of choosing these cheaper products may not be very positive.
- Posted by DavidSainsburies & Tesco are more convenient to get to, and I could never find the range of goods that I need for our low-GI gluten-free diet in Aldi & Lidl. I don’t mind popping into them if I’m passing (unlike Netto which is awful), but wouldn’t do a main shop at Aldi or Lidl.
The Tesco clubcard points (when converted to days out) are also a great bonus.
- Posted by Danielthey should open up in the empty woolworths shops… back in town centres again
- Posted by RobertoIt amazes me that people fall for the idea that the discounters are much cheaper. They just aren’t. I did my own survey of 20 basic products that I buy regularly, and Tesco was as cheap as Lidl’s. The discounters only seem cheaper if you buy all the overpriced famous brands and then switch to their cheap products. But you can achieve the same thing by switching to the majors economy brands. And as for choice, quality and variety, the majors win hands down. The shopping experience is more pleasant too, and it is a huge advantage to be able to buy the same lines week in week out. The discounters have huge gaps in their ranges, especially lacking in some basic healthy products.
Also, the majors get a lot of flak for being out of town, squeezing suppliers, transporting goods from far away etc, but the discounters are much, much worse in these respects. They mainly stock foreign products, even the eggs I bought from Lidl’s turned out to be Dutch.
It’s about time people started evaluating things fairly, instead of seeing the discounters as an opportunity to work off their prejudices against the majors.
- Posted by Oliver ChettleWith Lidl/Netto etc. you get what you pay for.There are some good buys but alot of the goods are of lower quality.
- Posted by R BradyChoice will always be lower as well in the discount stores.Also it is not the most pleasant experience.
At the risk of encouraging even more people to go shopping at Aldi/Lidl, it might be useful to note that around 50% of the German public use them for most of their shopping. The Germans are by the way a lot more health conscious and quality conscious than the British. Lidl adn Aldi chocolates (including their “dark” are superior to Cadbury’s “Vegolate” and cheaper. It’s entertaining to note that some years ago, a delicious chocolate covered butter biscuit on sale at Lidl for approx 50p was suddenly sourced by Waitrose and Marks and put on sale for almost twice the price. Not everything at Lidl/Aldi is of wondrous quality eg Lidl egga, I find tasteless whereas Aldi eggs are superb. They often use the same suppliers, and my recommendation is to avoid products manufactured for the English market (ie Made in England”). If your diet sticks towards the stodgy Brtish mainstream you will not enjoy Lidl/Aldi shopping. Better stay away and leave it free for the rest of us.
- Posted by AndyI live in a posh area and we already have a Lidl. It also sells certain items, such as ice cream, lager and salted nuts, that are superior to those of the best supermarkets regardless of price.
- Posted by Andrtew WaldronAndy’s comments that Lidl/Aldi are a healthier option make me wonder if he has actually visited them. They focus on what one might call chav food: cheap and bad for you. Germans use them a lot because they have lower average disposable incomes than Britons nowadays. And if you have been to Germany recently Andy, didn’t you notice all the fat people?
- Posted by Oliver ChettlePeople have become brainwashed by all the advertising into accepting branded goods. The purpose of branding is to retain all these sheep! Naturally, all the advertising costs must be recouped somehow, so there’s a minimum price in the well-known shops. But what’s so special about e.g. tinned vegetables, drinks or groceries generally that you have to stick slavishly to ‘your’ brand?
- Posted by Colin NealeAt very many European towns, there’s an Aldi and somewhere nearby a Lidl. Not all the stuff will be wonderful, but it’s almost certainly very acceptable value and that’s what people are desperately seeking with much more interest than they did before.
I’ve googled German obesity and apparently Germans are the fattest people in Europe, both men and women. So much for Andy’s fantasy that they are a health and quality focused nation kept in trim by their devotion to quality products from Aldi and Lidl.
- Posted by Oliver ChettleColin, the goods in Aldi and Lidl ARE branded. They just aren’t famous brands that get a great deal of advertising. It is the majors that sell genuinely non-branded goods.
- Posted by Oliver ChettleJohn, Granted, I agree, the food quality at Aldi and Lidl is appalling, but I don’t think you can honestly say the prices are any good either.
I tend to select the very best quality food that only Tesco can supply. I find that the prices in my local Tesco are significantly cheaper than in any of those ghastly German food sheds, and the service I receive is second to none.
Well done Tesco!
- Posted by Oliver ChettleOliver, I don’t think you really know what you are talking about. Either that, or you work for one of the majors, so it is in your interests to rubbish the discounters. You obviously havne’t read the article in today’s Times under the headline “Yuk - the sausage rolls with just 6% pork.” And no, the sausage roll wasn’t from Lidl, it was from your beloved Tesco! (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u k/article5258303.ece).
The article compares price, and quality of loads of items. Choice quotes include:
“Tesco’s bramley apple pies cost 69p and have 15% apple. Aldi’s Holly Lane bramley apple pies cost the same amount but contain 45% apple.”
“Sainsbury’s wafer-thin cooked ham costs £2.38 for 400g while 450g of Tesco wafer-thin honey-roast ham costs £2.98. Both contain 80% pork. At Lidl, by contrast, 400g of wafer-thin ham contains 97% pork and costs £2.19.”
“Tesco and Sainsbury’s cream of tomato soup both cost 39p and contain 68% and 74% tomato puree respectively. Aldi tomato soup costs 37p but contains 91% tomato puree.”
The article quotes Sarah Dennis of Which?, the consumer group, saying “The snobbery value has gone from it. People are more aware you can get just as good if not better products at the discount retailers.”
So - carry on shopping at Tesco if you want!
- Posted by PaulWe have ALDI now in NSW Australia ,we tend to purchase all our dry goods at ALDI and support local Greengrocers and butchers etc for the remaining items , Good Old fashioned Shopping on the come back ??!!
- Posted by LaurencePerhaps Aldi and Lidl can take over some of the soon-to-be-vacated Woolworths stores. As other commentators have already mentioned, you get the quality you pay for in the likes of Aldi and Lidl. In other supermarkets, you don’t always get the quality you pay for, and therein lies the difference.
- Posted by MWI get all my veg from Aldi aswell as my cheese. I also go to Lidl for bread and meats, i used to pay a fortune on lunch every week, now i pay 3 or 4 punds on bread ham and cheese. cant go wrong. Also cheaper alcohol in these shops, if you like abit of pimms every now and again go to Aldi and buy a bottle of Austins.
- Posted by King LouisBoth Lidl and Aldi are marvellous shops, not only for excellent value, but there also is no ghastly music being played all the time as seems to be the case in many supermarkets. One can shop in a calm atmosphere. The staff are extremely helpful and our local Aldi and Lidl are always very well presented. The fact that the shops are much smaller than the large supermarkets, makes them easier to get round, so one can shop more quickly without having to stand and choose from SO many varieties.
- Posted by PippaGermans don’t really shop that much at lidl or aldi because they have far better supermarkets in germany than the uk can ever dream of. the choice alone in the drinks section will leave you all stunned. UK after all is the romaia of the west. that’s why any normal person with some common sense has already deserted this island. Germans generally eat more meat than english people because we can afford to eat meat. ha ha
- Posted by DianaAldi is efficiently run, and in Scotland a lot of products are locally sourced.
- Posted by IAIN MACCORMICKI also like their range of continental delicatessen and cheeses.
And of course it’s a great place to buy a bottle or two for a wee dram in this cold weather!
Nice Post….keep it up !!!! Good job
John Lochrie
- Posted by John LochrieI don’t think it makes any difference if an area is posh or not that is all rubbish, my area Wallington used to be posh so I have heard years ago, but now there is a wide range of people from council estates snd private home owners. I think Lidl is great value for money I shop there quite often, I also shop at Sainsbury’s and Tesco in my home town. You can’t tell me that so called posh people haven’t shopped in cheaper stores in the past, I know quite well off people who use the £1.OOP shops and charity shops in Sutton and Croydon it isn’t just so called less wealthy people who shop around for bargains. Lidl do many good products including clothing which I have brought and people have asked me if it came from Next. So there you are you can’t judge a book by looking at it’s cover.
- Posted by Carole Heath