ALDI trolley shake-up leaves shoppers frustrated...but why are others defending it?

A customer’s visit to ALDI in Victoria turned frustrating when he noticed something amiss in the trolley bay.

He was taken aback by the lack of smaller shopping trolleys, which he relies on due to back problems. What followed online sparked a lively debate among fellow shoppers.

The man shared a picture on social media showing three rows of large 212L trolleys, each measuring 1.1m high, lined up neatly—yet no smaller trolleys were visible.

He explained that he avoided the bigger trolleys to prevent further strain on his back. 'I don't want to hurt my back any further,' he said.

The shopper speculated that the scarcity of smaller trolleys might be because other customers were taking them home and abandoning them along the way.

ALDI Australia confirmed there are no current plans to phase out the smaller trolleys, which were first introduced in 2022.

Back in June 2022, an ALDI spokesperson shared that the smaller trolleys were designed to provide shoppers—particularly pregnant women and elderly people—with 'greater convenience'.

'We recognise that customers are looking for greater convenience when they visit our stores, as it's almost impossible not to pick up the excellent value products on offer,' the spokesperson said.

'That's why we're introducing smaller trolleys across all our locations, so our customers can more efficiently pick up products while doing smaller grocery shops.'

Not all social media users agreed with the disgruntled shopper. 'Your back issues are not ALDI's problem,' one person said.

'You can fit a small trolley's worth of goods into a big trolley, but you can't fit a big trolley's worth into a small trolley... therefore, big trolleys have more utility?' another pointed out.

'If small and big trolleys are troubling you, you may be missing the bigger picture here. ALDI has a system that utilises trolleys all the way through the shopping process to maximise efficiency. Those efficiencies result in lower prices for you. Just use the bigger trolley and get on with enjoying life,' one added.

Meanwhile, another shopper noted that the man was lucky to have trolleys at all, as their local ALDI trolley bay is often empty during peak shopping hours. 'Not sure when they collect them because even on a Saturday morning, the trolley bay is empty from Friday night shopping,' they added.

Losing access to a trolley size that suits you can make a simple grocery trip unexpectedly stressful—have you ever been frustrated by a lack of options at your local store?