Aldi has said that same-store sales in the US rose in the double digits over the last 12 months with rampant inflation pushing consumers to find cheaper deals on groceries.
The German-owned discount supermarket chain saw 1 million new customers over the past year, Scott Patton, Aldi’s vice president of National Buying, told a media event. A rising number of middle- and high-income shoppers are visiting their stores as well, said Patton, referring to households making $50k-100k per year as middle income.
“Inflation is hitting everyone so when we can be a solution for the grocery portion of that, that’s important,” he said.
Discount stores such as Aldi and Dollar General Corp tend to perform well during economic troubles as cash-strapped consumers seek cheaper alternatives.
Dollar General lifted its annual comparable sales forecast last month, encouraged by consumers flocking to its stores for everything from groceries to household supplies.
Rising gas prices have also pushed more Americans to shop at Aldi, usually located in more central locations, rather than drive to a Walmart Supercenter which is usually outside of major urban regions. read more
Aldi attributed some of its success to offering more fresh produce over the last two years, which now makes up for two-thirds of what consumers put into their carts.
By cutting out excess labor such as a butchers in the meat section or produce stackers, refreshing produce seasonally and offering only 120 types of products on average at its US stores, Aldi has the ability to price fruits and vegetables 20-40% lower than competitors, Patton said.
Aldi also said on Wednesday it started testing a new “shoppable” website with a small group earlier this week, with a plan to launch nationally soon.