Aldi insider shares the 'small but clever' tactics behind the supermarket's low prices

An Aldi insider has revealed the secret behind how the supermarket chain keeps its prices so low for customers.

The budget-friendly supermarket chain is a hit with shoppers across the UK, largely due to its competitive pricing. Aldi was named the cheapest supermarket in 2023 by consumer group Which? and has maintained this title for the first five months of this year.

But what's the secret behind Aldi's ability to keep their prices so low? According to one Aldi insider, it's all down to the "small" measures implemented across individual stores over the years, reports the Mirror.

READ MORE: Nationwide banking customers set to get £100 payment within days

Julie Ashfield, managing director of buying at Aldi, shared with the Mirror some of the "small but clever" strategies the supermarket uses to cut costs, which are then passed on to customers.

One of the cost-saving measures Julie highlighted was the use of £1 coin locks across Aldi stores. She pointed out that while many UK supermarkets now use pound coin locks on their trolleys, it was actually Aldi that pioneered this trend.

She explained: "By chaining our trolleys and making sure they can only be unlocked using a £1 deposit or token, we are encouraging customers to return their trolleys back to where they found them at the front of the store. This reduces the chance of trolleys getting lost or stolen."

According to Julie, the £1 locks also help "maximise efficiency" across Aldi stores as staff can "focus on the customer experience" rather than spending time collecting trolleys.

In addition to this, Julie revealed that Aldi customers are now given the option to print their receipts. She pointed out that this not only reduces unnecessary paper waste, but it has also been a "small but effective way of saving money" as it has reduced the supermarket's expenditure on paper.

"Receipts can often end up in back pockets or crumpled up in the bin anyway, so this is a great way of putting that money saved on paper and printing back into our low prices," she added.

Aldi, along with other major UK supermarket chains, is also striving to reduce its carbon footprint. One such initiative is turning off the lights across its store estates, a measure first introduced last year. In addition, Aldi is utilising solar panels and equipping all new stores with LED lighting. These fittings extend the lifespan of light fittings from around two to 10 years, while also conserving energy.

Julie added: "Not only does this reduce our energy consumption by around 10 per cent, but introducing these measures has also resulted in savings on energy costs. That helps us to put that money saved back into keeping prices low for customers, with other energy saving measures such as the addition of chiller doors also making a significant impact."

Unlike other supermarket chains or retailers, Aldi makes an uncommon choice of not playing music in its stores. Julie said that this is part of Aldi's money-saving policy as it cuts out music licensing charges. Additionally, they find that this decreases distractions for shoppers, allowing them to concentrate more on their food purchasing. Julie mentioned, "Most customers don't even notice, while some actually say they quite enjoy the lack of background noise. "

Julie also said that one significant cost-cutting technique is the placement of products, sharing why stores seem so similar, "Walking into any Aldi store might seem like deja vu, but this is because Aldi store layouts are nearly all the same and have been specially designed to maximise efficiency."

The Aldi insider added that goods are frequently shipped to Aldi stores in "shelf-ready" containers so that staff can spend less time handling inventory, pointing out: "While things like our bottle racks make bringing products to the front of the shelves possible in just seconds rather than colleagues spending time moving each one individually."