As I have gotten older and started to buy more things for myself in college, I started shopping for my own groceries now and again. I always go out of my way to find the nearest Aldi store as I know they offer unbeatable prices and consistent quality and selection. I did research on their sales model for another class and found it to be very unique but very successful. I want to highlight a few things that they have been doing to keep their business alive and well for many years.
First their floor plan and selection is simple. They have a no frills model for the way they set up their floor plan, as well as how they display their products. Most of the store is laid out in “cut cases” which means that everything is still in their original big brown cardboard boxes. This not only saves time and money that the employees would have to use to take things out of their boxes, but it also allows for customers to use the boxes since the store does not give out plastic bags.
Another huge aspect of their business model is that they have limited customers working in each store. Most of their stores include many self-checkouts which limits the need for employees. The main purpose of employees is to keep shelves stocked and tidy, and only one or two cashiers. They also have the famous cart return system, where you have to use a quarter to unlock a cart and return it to get the quarter back. This fully eliminates the need for an employee to return carts.
The last example I will bring up is that 90% of their skus are private label, making their products much easier to regulate. They also only have around 1,600 skus compared to many other grocers who carry close to 30,000.
SchrieberBE23 
FrenchJA21 
andersonsa22
Very interesting post on Aldi. They have a great sales strategy and it certainly is working! We look for them also when we travel and I appreciate the simplicity and how quick going to the grocery store can be!
I LOVE ALDI. And even though they aren’t as common as a Walmart might be, I would much rather go to an Aldi’s than Walmart. It’s interesting to me how you mentioned their cart return system is so that it eliminates the need for employees to put them back, and I have never thought about it like that before!
Great Post! I certainly think that ALDI is a great store that builds upon already existing stores like Target and Walmart. I think that it is very good to highlight that they are innovative in making the buying experience better.