Why Are The Barcodes On Aldi Products So Large?

Aldi shoppers know that most of the brand's strategies — from shelving items in their original shipping boxes to offering non-name-brand products — are all in a quest to keep prices low for its loyal customers. However, there's one important design detail that Aldi implements to support its employees. 

Have you ever noticed how quickly a sitting Aldi employee scans items during checkout? It's always at lightning speed. This is thanks to the gigantic barcodes that Aldi has custom-made for every single product. Rather than wasting time looking for a tiny barcode in a product's upper right- or left-hand corner, Aldi barcodes are obnoxiously large and evenly distributed on all sides of the packaging. "While a small detail, we've designed our barcodes to ensure products can be scanned quickly from almost any angle, whether by employees or customers using self-checkout," an Aldi spokesperson shared with Nexstar Media Group (via Yahoo!). This helps make the checkout process as fast as possible.

If you're new to Aldi, you'll notice a theme of efficiency in the overall shopping experience compared to big box stores. Aldi implements a blend of strategies designed to increase the efficacy of shoppers and employees. For starters, you'll need a quarter to unlock a shopping cart at the store's entrance. This strategy puts responsibility on shoppers to return the cart when they're done using it and keeps employees focused on more important tasks instead of wrangling carts in a parking lot. Don't worry — you'll get your quarter back when the cart is returned.

Another Aldi-only policy is that customers are responsible for bagging their own groceries (ideally with reusable bags). This allows employees to help additional shoppers through the checkout line, restock items in the store, or pull empty cardboard boxes and break them down. One other thing I love about Aldi is its limited yet high-quality selection of goods. You'll never feel decision fatigue when there's only one copycat brand of Oreos to pick up or only two brands of yogurt to choose from. With a smaller store setup, these two strategies work in tandem by helping time-conscious shoppers quickly get in, check out, and move on with the rest of their day. And if that's not efficient enough, consumers can shop their favorite Aldi products with Instacart and pick them up curbside or have them delivered to their homes.