Aldi price myth exposed as discount shop undercuts rivals like Tesco: 'Get what you see'

Tonight sees an edition of Secrets of Your Supermarket Food return to Channel 5 screens, with presenters Sian Williams and Stefan Gates offering an insight into how the industry really operates. Among the supermarkets likely to feature will be Aldi – the German discount store, founded in 1946, which reached the British retail market in the early Nineties. Aldi now has more than 10,000 stores in over 20 countries, and boasts a turnover of €50billion (£44billion), estimates suggest.

For British shoppers it has now become one of their go-to places to buy produce, mainly as a result of its cheap products that are sold for a fraction of the price of traditional supermarkets.

After the 2008 financial crisis, Aldi opted to plunge more money into securing outlets in the UK, and there are plans to have 1,200 stores on these shores by 2025.

With their status as one of the biggest shopping brands in operation in Britain, consumer experts have discussed how Aldi is able to undercut its rivals, and where this leaves the rest of their competitors.

Speaking on 2014’s The Rise of the Discount Supermarket in the UK, Natalie Berg, from Planet Retail, argued that by offering less products to customers, they were able to work with less suppliers, meaning less money being spent on other retail aspects that push up prices.

She said: “When you walk into an Aldi, for example, you only have the choice of around 1,300 or 1,400 products, compared with the 30,000 you would have in a traditional supermarket.

“So, by keeping the number of products to a minimum, focusing on only their own label ranges, it means they’re able to deal with far fewer suppliers and that helps to keep costs down.”

Tim Downs, of Aberfield Communication, added: “It’s all down to what you see is what you get – and that’s what’s attracting UK shoppers.

“The prices they are able to charge are significantly lower in some cases than that of our big four who have traditionally been the price leaders and the price champions.”

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In another revelation, Ms Berg told Channel 5’s Supermarket Wars how Aldi were able to get customers in and out of their shops so quickly.

This, she argued, allowed more customers to spend their money, again driving prices down for consumers.

In the documentary, Ms Berg noted that one way this was done was through Aldi products having “multiple barcodes”, allowing the cashier to “quickly scan the products” so they “fly through the till”.

She continued: “The other way that they help to keep things efficient is by having a relatively small packing area next to the cashier.

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“So shoppers put their shopping back into their trolleys and then take them to the front of the store where they can then pack their own bags.”

However, Adam Leyland – editor-in-chief of The Grocer magazine – said this tactic was not just about Aldi ensuring customer queuing time also remained short.

He added: “The strategy is to maintain a price gap over the big four supermarkets.

“The minute that gap has been closed, it’s all over.”

There are other ways the company maintains this gap, too.

The narrator continued: “The German discounter has come up with other methods of capturing shoppers’ attention, including one distinct layout feature.

“Some know it as treasure aisle land, the aisle of wonder, or simply the middle aisle.

“As well as being unpredictable, the goods on sale in this part of the store are ever-changing.

“Simple, but clever – the tactic helps bring customers back again and again.”

Secrets of Your Supermarket Food airs tonight on Channel 5 from 7pm.