ALDI may be the most budget-friendly supermarket, but here's WHY you should 'think twice' before going
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Of the major supermarkets operating in Australia today, one has excelled in providing more affordable options for everyday items and fresh produce.
Whether you need to buy your weekly supply of vegetables or you just need to buy a handful of ingredients to make a simple chicken stir fry, it seems that ALDI is often considered the most convenient and cost-effective place to go.
According to Aldi's 2022 Price Report, which was published in May and is based on data analysis by PwC, a grocery basket from Aldi is typically 15% less expensive than a basket of the cheapest comparable products from its major competitors.
With a 74% customer approval rate, the findings show that three out of every four shoppers agree that Aldi offers lower prices than other supermarkets.
Among Australia's major supermarkets, Aldi offers the best prices. Credit: news.com.au.
A writer from news.com.au decided to conduct a 'shopping' test to see if Aldi really is the cheapest among the major supermarkets today.
Ben Graham doesn't typically do his grocery shopping at Aldi, so he was curious to see if the store's claims that its prices are lower are actually true.
"I tackled the German chain after visiting Coles and there was a marked difference in the price of the ingredients we needed," he said.
The first thing on his shopping list is red capsicum, which has an "eye-watering" price tag of $10.90 per kilogram at Coles. The same red capsicum cost $6.99 per kilogram at Aldi, which is a remarkable price difference.
The next thing on the list was chicken, which was also more affordable at Aldi coming in at $10.99 per kilogram as opposed to $14 per kilogram at Coles.
"A box of mushrooms at Aldi cost just $3.40, compared to $4.19 at Woolies and a whopping $5.50 at Coles," Graham added.
He also found that the ingredients for stir-fry weren't the only ones that were cheaper. He compared some other products, such as rump steaks, and found that Aldi was significantly less expensive at $18.99 per kilogram, as compared to Coles and Woolworths.
But it looks like shopping at Aldi also has a bit of a downside…
Most items were cheaper at Aldi, but some were also more expensive. Credit: news.com.au.
Graham mentioned that there was a problem that would cause him to "think twice" before coming back to Aldi again – and that is their "disappointing" selections for fresh produce and other items such as meat and baby wipes.
"The selection of fresh produce was disappointing with many green vegetables missing including snow peas, broccoli, cabbage and lettuce," he said. To be fair, there has been a widely publicised shortage of lettuce, and there was a shortage at Woolies as well.
"However, the shortages at Aldi also affected products like meat, with many different cuts missing from the shelves. It made it difficult to do a full shop at Aldi when there were so many important everyday items missing from the shelves – items that Coles and Woolies both had in abundance."
Due to these shortages, Graham had to go shopping at other stores in addition to his Aldi run to buy the items that the store was out of stock of.
"As a cheapskate, I am prepared to do this to get my hands on the discounted items at Aldi, but not everyone has the luxury of trotting around several shops when buying groceries," he said.
To see the breakdown of what his shopping trips cost at each store, take a look at the list below:
Coles
Aldi
Woolworths
So there you have it, folks!
Aldi might be the cheapest of the big supermarkets right now, but we have to warn you that they don't always have everything you need, so you might have to go to other stores to finish your list.
What are your thoughts? Do you agree that Aldi has the best prices to offer? Or do you find that other supermarkets such as Coles and Woolies are still more convenient for you? Let us know in the comments!
Whether you need to buy your weekly supply of vegetables or you just need to buy a handful of ingredients to make a simple chicken stir fry, it seems that ALDI is often considered the most convenient and cost-effective place to go.
According to Aldi's 2022 Price Report, which was published in May and is based on data analysis by PwC, a grocery basket from Aldi is typically 15% less expensive than a basket of the cheapest comparable products from its major competitors.
With a 74% customer approval rate, the findings show that three out of every four shoppers agree that Aldi offers lower prices than other supermarkets.
Among Australia's major supermarkets, Aldi offers the best prices. Credit: news.com.au.
A writer from news.com.au decided to conduct a 'shopping' test to see if Aldi really is the cheapest among the major supermarkets today.
Ben Graham doesn't typically do his grocery shopping at Aldi, so he was curious to see if the store's claims that its prices are lower are actually true.
"I tackled the German chain after visiting Coles and there was a marked difference in the price of the ingredients we needed," he said.
The first thing on his shopping list is red capsicum, which has an "eye-watering" price tag of $10.90 per kilogram at Coles. The same red capsicum cost $6.99 per kilogram at Aldi, which is a remarkable price difference.
The next thing on the list was chicken, which was also more affordable at Aldi coming in at $10.99 per kilogram as opposed to $14 per kilogram at Coles.
"A box of mushrooms at Aldi cost just $3.40, compared to $4.19 at Woolies and a whopping $5.50 at Coles," Graham added.
He also found that the ingredients for stir-fry weren't the only ones that were cheaper. He compared some other products, such as rump steaks, and found that Aldi was significantly less expensive at $18.99 per kilogram, as compared to Coles and Woolworths.
But it looks like shopping at Aldi also has a bit of a downside…
Most items were cheaper at Aldi, but some were also more expensive. Credit: news.com.au.
Graham mentioned that there was a problem that would cause him to "think twice" before coming back to Aldi again – and that is their "disappointing" selections for fresh produce and other items such as meat and baby wipes.
"The selection of fresh produce was disappointing with many green vegetables missing including snow peas, broccoli, cabbage and lettuce," he said. To be fair, there has been a widely publicised shortage of lettuce, and there was a shortage at Woolies as well.
"However, the shortages at Aldi also affected products like meat, with many different cuts missing from the shelves. It made it difficult to do a full shop at Aldi when there were so many important everyday items missing from the shelves – items that Coles and Woolies both had in abundance."
Due to these shortages, Graham had to go shopping at other stores in addition to his Aldi run to buy the items that the store was out of stock of.
"As a cheapskate, I am prepared to do this to get my hands on the discounted items at Aldi, but not everyone has the luxury of trotting around several shops when buying groceries," he said.
To see the breakdown of what his shopping trips cost at each store, take a look at the list below:
Coles
- Broccoli: $11.50/kg (200g) – $2.30
- Sugar snap peas $32/kg (200g) – $6.40
- Carrot: 1kg bag $1.50
- Zucchini: $4.90/kg (200g) – $0.98
- Mushrooms: punnet $5.50
- Red capsicum: $10.90/kg (200g) – $2.18
- Onion: bag $1.50
- Garlic: $25kg (80g) – $2
- Soy sauce: $2.60
- Chicken thigh: $14/kg (500g) – $9.27
- Noodles: $2
Aldi
- Broccoli: $9.99/kg (200g) – $1.99
- Snow peas: $27.96/kg (200g) – $5.59
- Carrot: $1.79 bag
- Zucchini: $8.99/kg (200g) – $1.79
- Mushrooms: punnet $3.40
- Capsicum: $6.99/kg (200g) – $1.39
- Onion: bag $2.49
- Garlic: $24.99/kg – $2.49
- Soy sauce: $1.79
- Chicken: $10.99/kg (around 500g) – $5.40
- Noodles: $1.79
Woolworths
- Broccoli: $11.90/kg (200g) – $2.38
- Snow peas: $35.60/kg (200g) – $7.12
- Carrot: 1kg bag $2.40
- Zucchini: $4.90/kg (200g) – $0.98
- Mushrooms: punnet $4.15
- Capsicum: $10.90/kg (200g) – $2.18
- Onion: bag $1.50
- Garlic: $1.25
- Soy sauce: $2.50
- Chicken: $11.50/kg (500g) – $5.75
- Noodles: $1.85
So there you have it, folks!
Aldi might be the cheapest of the big supermarkets right now, but we have to warn you that they don't always have everything you need, so you might have to go to other stores to finish your list.
What are your thoughts? Do you agree that Aldi has the best prices to offer? Or do you find that other supermarkets such as Coles and Woolies are still more convenient for you? Let us know in the comments!