11 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Shopping At Aldi

If you've been passing by the Aldi multicolored sign on your commute but haven't yet worked up the gumption to step inside, there are a multitude of reasons why you should. Aldi is not just another big chain store, offering the occasional discount. Aldi is a grocery-focused store that promises high-quality items at discount prices. This may be a tall claim, but there is a whole cult-like following dedicated to the store that backs it up, mentioning the chain delivers on these promises. 

Though today, Aldi seems to be the sweet spot between the discount bulk purchases offered at Costco and purchasing great quality items for a steal, the company did not originate in the U.S. Originally founded in Germany in 1913, the store didn't make its way overseas until many years later, when the first shop was opened in Iowa in 1976. Since that day, the store has spread throughout the country, becoming America's fastest-growing grocery store, also known for its cheapness. 

In case you're wondering the meaning behind Aldi's unique name, it's much more straightforward than you might think. Aldi is a shortened and combined version of Albrecht (the last name of the founders) and discount (the word that sums up their price points). If this information has caused you to consider adding a stop at Aldi to your next shopping trip, then there are a few pointers that will help you prepare for the experience.

Before you even leave the house to go on your Aldi shopping adventure, there's a mistake you can avoid making. With the widespread movement for stores to be more environmentally friendly, it has left a darkened drawer, cabinet, or closet space in nearly every dwelling that inevitably has several reusable bags stuffed inside of each other. Your Aldi trip is the time you're going to want to dust those off and bring a couple along with you. That's correct, Aldi does not offer bags at the checkout. It does offer reusable bags which individuals can purchase, but bringing your own will avoid a panicked purchase at the checkout and save you some money.

It might seem a bit odd that Aldi does not offer plastic shopping bags, but the reasoning makes sense. To continuously offer low prices, the store has to cut the frills like the included bags you might find at alternative grocers, for one. For two, Aldi is aware of the negative impact that single-use plastics can have on the environment. It's for this reason that Aldi has never offered these single-use plastic bags to shoppers from the start. Even though the store used to sell Aldi-exclusive reusable plastic bags, in 2023, it announced that it would be working to phase this out as well. This was completed in early 2024 and replaced with alternatives like paper bags for those who arrive at the checkout bag-less. 

With the discount mentality rife throughout the store, it should come as no surprise that Aldi offers Aldi-exclusive brands. What might come as a bit of a shock, however, is that less than 10% of the items sold within Aldi stores are name-brand, the remaining amount being Aldi-exclusive brands. There are exclusive brands of just about every grocery item you can think of. There's a pet food exclusive brand called Pure Being, and an exclusive brand of wine called Winking Owl. Whatever your wish, it seems the Aldi-exclusive brands will provide.

Now, you may be wondering about the quality of these Aldi-branded items. Sure, the lower price is attractive, but the real concern is how they taste. Well, social media tells us that there are several Aldi dupes that are even better than the brand-name options. The items that people sing the praises of are vast, as well; they don't just outshine the brand-name goods in one area. 

In a food for thought moment, one reviewer on TikTok mentions that most of the time, Aldi brands are actually made within the same factories that the brand names are. Many other shoppers seem to believe the same thing, though this does not appear to have been confirmed by the company itself. If this is true, this would explain why many suggest the products taste nearly identical to the brand-name products.

Everyone has been in this scenario. You pick up an item when you first see it, placing it in your cart. But as you continue to wander the aisles on your shopping journey, you start to wonder if you really need to purchase it. Perhaps you suddenly remember you already have that block of cheese sitting in your fridge at home, and decide to place it back on a random shelf. You might believe there's no harm in doing this. The item is still within the store walls, after all. But if you dig a little deeper, there are definite reasons why you should return that block of cheese to its designated shelf. 

What at first seems like a minor infraction contributes to a much bigger problem: food waste. If these products remain in the wrong spot, they can end up expiring. Comments on Reddit suggest that Aldi has a policy dictating that any food left in a temperature outside the range in which it was stored has to be discarded. Over on Facebook, an Aldi employee mentions that they believe if customers understood the waste they were creating by doing this, perhaps they would think twice. The moral of the story here is to make sure to put that item you decided against either back in the proper place or hand it over to an employee so it doesn't need to be tossed.

When you picture an application for a store, your mind might immediately go to app-specific sales and discounts. The application for Aldi, however, is a bit different than what you might be used to. The store in general does not offer online coupons, only offering printed coupons to celebrate big events such as a new store opening. Now, try not to let the fact that you won't find Aldi coupons on the mobile app stop you from pressing the download button. There are several features of the app that can still be helpful.

For those who are in a hurry or who want the added convenience of their order being brought to them, the app offers a capability for people to order delivery or curbside pickup. All products are updated on the app and offered in sections, including a section for Aldi Finds (more on that one later). If you want to create a shopping list before heading over to the store, you can easily create a favorites list, adding the items you need to purchase and saving it. 

The application also keeps users up-to-date on any pricing changes and allows users to view the current and next week's Aldi weekly flyer. With all these perks and capabilities, opting out of using the Aldi app is simply a mistake you won't want to make.

If you're planning to pop into Aldi for more than a couple of items, you're likely going to require the use of the cart. But when you get to the cart corral, if the sight of chains linking the carts together gives you pause, rest assured — Aldi is not trying to nickel and dime you by charging for use of their carts. The quarter is popped into the slot on one end, causing the chain connecting the cart to the one in front on the opposite side to release. When you return the cart to the corral and plug that connecting chain back in, your quarter is released from its confinement. In other words, the process is handled more like a deposit.

Now, as for the reasoning behind this more unique process, it is similar to that behind not offering shopping bags for free. Think for a moment about the costs associated with hiring an employee to collect carts and dispense them to the cart corral. That employee needs a salary, vacation time, and a host of other costs associated with their hire. Instead of hiring someone and offering the resulting higher price points to customers, they cut out the middleman by adding an incentive, aka your quarter. With money hanging in the balance, customers are more likely to return the carts to the corral by themselves, as opposed to just leaving them sprawled about the parking lot.

Aldi and Walmart are both chains that advertise low price points, so it's understandable why some might at first think Aldi to be the German version of Walmart. This, however, is not actually the case. Besides the obvious differences, like the quarter deposit system for carts and the use of plastic shopping bags, these two stores are very different.

 For one, Aldi stores are typically much smaller in size, on average about 10,000 square feet — a drastic change when compared to the average for Walmart, which is over 170,000 square feet. With this smaller size comes a limitation on the items available. While Aldi has about 2,500 products in store, stores like Walmart have far more, ranging between 40,000 and 50,000 items. With differences like this, you might assume Walmart would be the more successful between the two. However, the simple operating procedure, which cuts many of the costs that Walmart continues to pay for, has led to Aldi holding its own in the comparison between these two stores.

These additional operating costs allow the pricing at Aldi to significantly differ from Walmart's. Aldi prices can be up to 40% less expensive than typical grocery pricing. Walmart pricing, on the other hand, is significantly closer to the regular price, only offering a discount of between 13% to 15% (via CBS News). The moral of the story here is that if you want a broad selection, Walmart is your destination. If you're seeking low prices, Aldi fits the bill. Either way, the two differ greatly.

Every Wednesday, dedicated Aldi shoppers pack up their reusable bags and head to the store for one reason: to see the new stock items lining the shelves. This is because each week, starting on Wednesday, a new selection of items is released for purchase. The company calls these items the Aldi Finds. The types of items included aren't just food products, either, and can vary, including cookware, seasonal items such as gardening supplies, and even clothes.

Given the smaller size of the Aldi stores, it's understandable that they have limited shelf space for new items. With this in mind, the weekly Aldi Finds program is meant to rotate some new items into the store and freshen up the stock availability. Taking advantage of this weekly offering is one of the ways to get the most out of what has been dubbed the Aldi "aisle of shame". 

You can stay ahead of the deals and keep an eye on the ones you want to pull the trigger on by checking the Upcoming Aldi Finds page, which lists the items a week ahead of time. It also doesn't hurt to keep an eye out for the Weekly Ad, which also lists a handful of the Aldi Finds available for the week.

One of the reasons that people get a bit uppity about Aldi Finds is that they are limited-supply and limited-time items. That means if you lollygag and show up at 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening, your chances of snagging that sought-after item might be low. Plus, once they are sold out of an Aldi Find, they aren't getting more stock of that item back in. This, of course, doesn't mean that the item won't be released again in the future Aldi Finds, but some people document waiting 12 months for items to return.

Now, a tip from some of the more seasoned Aldi shoppers is that even if you are planning to head to Aldi early on a Wednesday morning, there might be a better way. Some customers mention having to wait in lines, while others say that by the time they got into the store, the item they wanted was sold out. Rumor has it that you can side-step this experience entirely at some stores. Select stores, it seems, have mercy on shoppers and place the Aldi Finds on shelves on Tuesday evenings. With this in mind, it might be worth it to peruse your nearest location on Tuesday evening to confirm if it's one of the lucky few. 

While Aldi has grown its offerings throughout the years, increasing the products available overall by about 20% since 2018, you may not be able to find your entire grocery list within the store. While this might be the expectation for Aldi regulars who frequent the store, for a newer customer, this might be a little unexpected. You especially may need to plan a second stop if you are brand loyal to a specific item, or seeking a specific size of item as Aldi carries a limited selection of products. It's for this reason that many shoppers plan to stop at Aldi and an alternate grocer to pick up the remaining items they need. 

You may be wondering what exactly you will need to travel to another grocery store for so that you can prepare. Well, as usual, Reddit has stepped up with a pretty succinct list. One example is that produce at Aldi is often sold in bags. If you are only looking to purchase one or two, you may need to visit an alternative grocer. Or for items like brand-name canned tomatoes or specific flavors of items, you may need to search elsewhere. 

You may have seen pictures of Aldi stocking various types of alcohol — like the best canned boozy drinks to spike your summer with – or maybe noticed posts on social media. It would be understandable if you had, that you would assume scooping up some Aldi-branded beer would be a highlight on your visit. But not all Aldi stores offer the same products when it comes to alcohol, or even offer it at all. This has certainly caused confusion for some customers who have then turned to the internet to ask if Aldi even sells alcohol. 

The reason for these varying experiences is simple. The laws dictating the stores in which alcohol sales are permitted can vary greatly from state to state and can even change region to region. If grocery stores are not permitted to carry alcohol products, then you will find yourself out of luck at your local Aldi. For convenience, if you were hoping to purchase alcohol on your Aldi trip, check the store locator to find out if your location offers alcohol. If it sells beer, there will be a symbol of a beer glass topped with foam under the services heading. Similarly, if wine is sold at the location, a wine glass will be shown.

Aldi doesn't just claim it offers high-quality products at low prices. It believes in this statement so strongly that it offers a program to ease any hesitation customers may have when purchasing. It's called the Twice as Nice Guarantee — frankly, a guarantee that almost makes you wish you weren't satisfied with your purchase. The guarantee states that if you aren't entirely satisfied with your item, you can take it back to the store. Now, this is where the 'twice' part comes into play. You then receive not only a replacement for the product, but a full refund. That's right, read that again. You get both.

Now, as with most things, there are some caveats to this deal. If you want that full refund to be issued in the same form of tender you paid with, you need to keep that pesky receipt around — at least until you can make sure you are completely in love with your purchase. Otherwise, the refund for the guarantee will be provided in the form of an Aldi gift certificate. You also won't be able to use the guarantee for non-Aldi exclusive items, non-food Aldi Find items, and alcohol national brands. 

Customers of Aldi find this guarantee to be the bees' knees. From mentions of the associates being apologetic about any issues they had with their food, to an easy streamlined process without accusation, Aldi shoppers find this guarantee to brighten their shopping experience, and increase loyalty.