Aldi more expensive and quality declining?

Peggybabcot

I have an excellent app for my phone called our groceries. Basically it's a shopping list but I always add the price next to the item. This way I can see what I paid last time. Also because I shop at Homebargains, Aldi & Sainsbury's I separate them into three lists for each shop with the cost at that shop so if one of the shops has something on special offer I know instantly if its cheaper than what I paid at the other shops last week. It's a bit of a faff but we've cut our bill by around £70 per week by doing this and not one member of the family has noticed the change in meals etc. Personally I don't think Aldi has gone up across the board too much, just the odd item by a few pence. Unlike Sainsbury's which HAS increased their prices considerably and not just by a couple of pence either!
For those who haven't got access to this app just do what I remember my mum doing years ago, when you write your shopping list put the price you paid last time you purchased it next to it so you can see any increases and maybe buy them elsewhere if possible. X

asnac

I had been wondering about this question, so I dug out a receipt from last May and did a comparison when I went shopping this morning. Basically everything that I knew to be the same product, that I could see on the shelves, I noted the difference (if any) on the receipt. Here are the results....

Toscano Rosso wine 3.99 in May 2012, 3.99 now (April 2013).
Orange juice / apple juice 56p 2012, 65p now
Orange squash no added sugar 95p 2012, 95p now
Red thunder 6 pack 1.59 2012, 1.59 now
Disco biscuit (renamed Groovy) 99p 2012, 99p now
Jaffa cakes 85p 2012, 89p now
Bavarian smoked cheese slices 1.09 2012, 99p now
Pork sausages 99p 2012, 1.05 now
Red Leicester block 1.49 2012, 1.49 now
Salted cashews 1.39 2012, 1.39 now
Mixed peppers 99p 2012, 1.49 now
Naan bread 49p 2012, 59p now
Baking potatoes 59p 2012, 89p now
Broccoli 55p 2012, 49p now
Poppadoms 99p 2012, 99p now
Bubbly chocolate bar 69p 2012, 69p now
Curly fries 99p 2012, 1.19 now

The 'basket' of 16 items above cost £19.18 just under a year ago, in May 2012. Food price inflation at 3.5% should have increased the price by 67p, in fact it's up by 83p in April 2013, meaning about a 1% rise in real terms. While my 'basket' is not an in-depth analysis, it suggests that over the last year there has been no deliberate policy at Aldi to raise their prices: to answer the OP's question, I would conclude that Aldi is not getting more expensive.

useyourillusiontoo

I just noticed that Aldi have increased the price of six Pink Lady apples to £2.49. This is still cheaper than the big supermarkets but it's a damn steep price increase of 39% in a few months. They were only £1.79 not so long ago.

I've noticed a lot of other things becoming steadily more expensive in Aldi or lower quality. E.g. The lean beef mince was was less than 10% fat but now it's less than 12% and the price is the same (£2.69 500g)

I'll still be shopping there but wondered if anybody else has noticed other items drastically increasing in price? Are they taking their newly established customer base for a ride now we're hooked?

mon37

I did also notice big price increase in Aldi. Prices are almost the same as in other supermarkets. I am sometimes wondering why people still shop there to be honest.

lemontart

It is a case now more so than before of knowing your prices, and reading labels and shopping around more to make the pennies go further, All grocery stores small and large are either increasing price, shrinking packets, or both on some products. I find lidl's cheaper than Aldi's for most but again a case of being ever watchful whilst considering the cost of going from shop to shop.

bcl999

Well, what I've noticed in my local is the appearance of more & more "premium" lines. Still good value but does result in a higher spend.

paulineb_2

I still prefer Aldi to somewhere like Tesco. My mum and I used the £5 money off voucher on a £40 spend a few weeks ago and we were struggling to actually hit the £40. Im sure prices have gone up but everytime Im in Tesco Im astonished by their eye wateringly expensive prices and they also have a habit of putting prices down, then back up and then down again but not by as much so that people think they are getting a bargain when the item was doubled in price to start with.

Theres an aldi and a lidl in my home town, I used to shop in lidl a lot because the aldi was further away, but its moved and I always shop in Aldi now, prefer their food to Lidls for some reason.

Teahfc

Pink lady apples are like Many fruits at moment in between northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere supply.
Always cheaper fom Northern hemisphere(Europe etc) than southern( south Africa / south America), the southern grower have a bigger market to supply, the days of growing for the main market in Europe has gone as Russia and the far East pay more money and bigger demand thus price goes up ! Get used to it, it's not going to get any cheaper.

miss_emmajane

I am just wondering if anyone else if getting disappointed in the quality of fruit from ALDI? I have shopped there for just over two years, and always bought pretty much my full shop from there but recently the amount of fruit and certain veg (eg asparagus) you get has been halved but the price hasn't changed and the fruit is not good quality

I could live with smaller portions as I understand otherwise the price would go up, but if the fruit is only lasting 2-3 days, it doesn't really make it that cheap anymore! I used to be their biggest advocate but I am starting to shop in ASDA which makes my tight student budget even tighter but at least their fruit is lovely and lasts!

tessie_bear

umm i think it can be hit and miss but i have had a good run with aldi fruit and veg for a while now.....might be worth buying from aldi and taking back if it goes manky too quickly...or buy less but more often...that would help your budget but not be feasible time wise