ALDI USA’s Post

#AskAQuestion Shock news! Have you been taken in by dodgy loyalty offers at Tesco and Sainsbury's? Share your thoughts on this scandal and let's get a discussion going! #AskAQuestion

Shout out to ALDI USA for showing people that a multi-billion dollar business can put people first, can use active listening, and follow through with results. I’ve had the privledge to be a “grunt” worker for a ridiculous amount of side hustles during my life. Aldi is by far the most demanding; however, not a single company has proven time and again that they care about all of their employees, bottom to top, the way Aldi does. I’ve been a part time employee for going on 3 years, and I’ve gotten to watch them roll out programs that focus on clarity, development, education, and this year they doubled down on additional humanity initiatives. My favorite part is sitting next to my team and getting to soak in that Aldi heard them. They cared enough to take the largest concerns of their staff, and address it. Not once. Not twice. I’ve witnessed three years of A.C.T.I.O.N. directly correlated to the feedback from the employees and customers. The way this company has operated from a core level only makes me want to continue working for them. At the end of the day, I know that they have an internal initiative to keep reviewing all aspects of the business and make consistent progress to be better. I’m truly in awe. No matter the size of the company, it’s a choice to put people first and Aldi is killing it. 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻 Ps. Thank you cards are literally my favorite way to show appreciation. I’m 1,000% on board with this initiative of recognizing each other in writing. The Great [store] #58 better stock up. 🙌🏻

3 reasons why this Aldi campaign is such a great example to marketers. ➕ It comes from a strong insight - not everything is available at Aldi and shoppers need to go elsewhere for "special" bits and pieces. ➕ The Aldi Team were brave enough to embrace this and flip it into a positive "shop here first and save" - others would be concerned about highlighting the limitation of their range. ➕ The reason that they felt "brave enough" is thanks to the 'Good. Different.' platform that they have invested in - it provides clear goal posts for what works and is acceptable to them. A strong creative platform and investment in knowing your customers means you don't actually have to be very brave at all. #brand #creative #customerinsight

Christmas 2016: A star is born ⭐️ 🥕 Kevin the Carrot, brainchild of Aldi UK and McCann bursts onto consumers' screens. 7 years later, Kevin has been joined by a whole host of fruit and veg friends, and starred in several adaptations of famous Christmas films. Why is Kevin so successful with consumers? Research from Ella Ward at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute showed that characters have the least mental competition compared with other brand assets, and are therefore more likely to be unique in consumers’ minds.  Kevin is now a staple part of Aldi’s Christmas narrative, and a calling card for their festive range. Discover our analysis of festive ads, and where they’re falling short →

ALDI’S CONUNDRUM IN AMERICA Aldi has many things going for it in America. It is completing an aggressive program of expansion and store refurbishing. It is Progressive Grocer’s Supermarket of the Year. It scores #5 on satisfaction in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, ahead of Kroger, Target, Whole Foods, and other large retailers. In the Consumer Reports subscribers’ survey, its store brands received a quality rating on 4 out of 5, again ahead of many other retailers. Yet, despite being in the U.S. for half a century, Aldi’s market share is only 2.1%, way below its market share in countries like Australia or the UK. When I go to my local Aldi store, it is quite empty, even though Trader Joe’s—which also has a limited assortment of mostly store brands--is packed. So, it can’t be just Americans’ love for big-box, big-assortment stores. What is going on? Clearly, Aldi shoppers love the store! At Kenan-Flagler’s business school’s annual Xmas party, a colleague told me that she was an absolute Aldi loyalist. But unless Aldi solves this puzzle, will it gain real traction in the largest market of the world? #business #leadership #grit #history #executivedevelopment

Famous last words: I should have gotten a cart. - Me, almost every time I run into a grocery store for “a few items” Yesterday I actually planned ahead and grabbed a quarter for my cart at Aldi. I was tired and did not feel like trying to balance all of my groceries as I walked through the store. I did, however, park on the road outside of the Aldi parking lot because I figured I wasn’t getting many things and I could carry my grocery bag to my vehicle. (Maybe these will be my new famous last words!) Welllll, I picked out a watermelon, bag of apples, all the veggies/broth to make chicken noodle soup on a rainy, rainy day. Clearly I was not carrying all of these groceries out to my vehicle. I lugged the shopping cart into the street to unload my groceries. As I looked up, a Good Samaritan was walking toward me holding out a quarter - Aldi-speak for “I’ll trade you my quarter for your cart”. The kindness of this one person completed changed my mindset. I went from: oh-so-tired, slightly grumpy after a long day at work, a little blah, To: thankful, upbeat, genuinely happy and content as I walked in the door to see my kiddos and make chicken noodle soup. Did that stranger need to walk around puddles to trade me a quarter for a cart in the street outside the parking lot? Absolutely not. But I’m very thankful for it! A small act of kindness can change the trajectory of another persons day. #gratitude #perspective #growthmindset #selfcare

In the grocery retail, #privatelabel has been an increasing trend over the past years. Especially since the pandemic, consumers' preference shifted more towards "low price & high quality" products as an alternative to national brands. Here an example from Aldi. One of the fastest growing supermarket retailers, opting to sell the majority of their products under private label is one of the main contributors to fueling its growth. #oem #tradeshow #groceryindustry #marcachina #marcaevents2024

We like to do monthly challenges/experiments. This month, we decided to only shop for groceries at Aldi’s. Here’s what I like about it so far: - The store is small! Doesn’t take forever to park, walk in, find everything, etc. The time commitment is much shorter per trip. - Choices are limited. You don’t have dozens of choices for each thing on your list. - There isn’t an annoying loyalty program! They give you groceries, you give them money. End of transaction. - Prices are lower (for most things). Really helping the budget. - WAY less temptations than big stores such as Meijer. But not everything is perfect: - There are certain brands we like that you can’t find there. - Produce is a little hit and miss. - Sometimes it’s not super well-maintained Overall it’s been a nice positive disruption in our routine. In what ways have you disrupted one of your routines lately? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Until then, remember life is pretty great. Keep it simple. Side note: I have no affiliation with Aldi. Lol

If ever you need an anecdote that a substantial number of shoppers love treasure hunts, and even a small-format store can deliver retail theater, check out what Aldi does in its center aisle. It's a bit of retailing genius if you ask me. There's a dopamine hit triggered in our reptilian brains for successful treasure hunt excursions, especially if it requires some cunning planning and effort. While most retailers obsess over reducing friction, overcoming a little bit of friction is part of the hunter-gatherer reward system hardwired into our basic desires. The article also gives a nod to the paradox of choice. Worth a read.

For my non retail and non operator friends - this is a great article to get a feel for what it is like to manage a store and the complexity that needs to be managed to create a strong customer experience. When I joined Walmart as a former supplier, I did not appreciate what the store operators had to do. But you quickly learn that “retail is about details” and this article does a good job of conveying that. While I realize this is an idealized experience and good PR by the company to allow the WSJ to follow a manager, the fact that they also highlight the challenges is appreciated - erroneous inventory reports that lead to OOS and incomplete orders, unexpected trucks and the impact to labor costs, etc. the complexity and uncertainty that stores need to manage is real. I have a huge amount of respect for the store operations team in any retail organization. They are the face of the brand for customers and they play a key role in the activation of most strategies. If you can make their jobs easier - then they can focus on driving an amazing customer experience.