Aldi Employee Reveals How The Store Keeps Prices So Low

Aldi is unique amongst grocery stores in that it offers high-quality specialty items and an enjoyable shopping experience similar to a Trader Joe's, but with the low, low prices typical of a more plebeian budget chain such as Save-a-Lot.

Yes, there's some cognitive dissonance involved in passing shelves stocked with imported European chocolates and award-winning wines as you're on your way to pick up a pound of cheap ground chuck and a jug of the lowest-priced milk in town. And yes, it's really annoying when you forget to bring your own bags once again and have to pop for yet another $2 reusable bag at the counter. But still, you'll never stop shopping at Aldi because you just can't beat those low, low prices. If you've ever wondered just how Aldi gets their prices so low, though, no need to worry. No shady business going on — they're just minimizing their own expenses and passing the savings on to shoppers.

Aldi saves money on all those bags they're not giving out (not to mention, the ones they're selling to serial bag-forgetters.) They also don't stock many name brands, nor do they have much of an advertising budget, and their stores are on the small side so there's less overhead. But wait! There's more! (As Billy Mays would say.) A woman who works at an Aldi in Sydney, Australia posted a video to her now-private TikTok account (shared by The Sun) which reveals another way Aldi keeps its costs down.

According to Brooke Hoskin, each Aldi store has comparatively few staff members, which means a lower payroll for the corporation but higher rates per employee. Fewer employees does also means more tasks for each worker, with each task needing to be performed more quickly in order to get everything done. Aldi's efficiency experts, however, make this as easy as possible. One task that takes up much of the workers' time is ringing up customers' groceries, and Hoskin admits that managers do monitor the amount of time each cashier spends on the task. Super-speedy checkout times are possible, however, due to the fact that Aldi's product barcodes are not only extra-large, but are placed in several different locations on each item so they're easier to find and scan.

Not only do faster checkouts make for a cost-effective way to run a store, but they also make for a better customer experience, and Aldi has claimed that its checkout times may be up to 40 percent faster than those at other grocers. That's more Aldi magic at work — turning a money-saving measure into something that allows for not only cheaper products but happier shoppers.

If you're already on the way to Aldi, check out this popular new pizza when you get there, or maybe pick up a bag of Broccoli (or Cauliflower) Bake to make this super-easy, super-cheesy, 3-ingredient-Aldi product dinner. You'll be out of the store in hardly any time, and you won't have spent too much, either.