Aldi Gains 17 Million U.S. Customers, Plans 180 New Stores as Shoppers Seek Lower Grocery Prices

U.S. customers last year, opened nearly 200 new stores and plans to open another 180 stores across the country this year. The German-owned discount chain's expansion comes as budget-conscious shoppers shift away from traditional supermarkets amid years of rising food prices.

Rachel Negro-Henderson and her husband Rich Henderson grocery shop for their family at the Aldi in Bellmawr, New Jersey. , with her husband and three kids, started shopping at Aldi regularly during the COVID-19 pandemic after her husband lost his income as a crew coach.

In the early days she would sometimes have awkward run-ins with acquaintances who did not want to talk about why they were there.

But after just a few years those interactions have changed. Negro-Henderson said she now sees people she knows at Aldi all the time and they say they are saving money. "Everyone's like, 'Yeah, I'm saving money.

I might as well come here. I'm getting the same product,'" Negro-Henderson said. A Consumer Reports study found that prices at Aldi and Lidl were more than 8% lower than at Walmart.

Only six retailers were cheaper than Walmart according to Consumer Reports: Aldi, Lidl, BJ's Wholesale Club, Costco, WinCo, and H-E-B. 3% jump over roughly the same period last year. Sam's Club is hoping to more than double its profits over the next eight to 10 years.

Grocery Outlet announced it would close 36 stores. More than 90% of the products at Aldi are store brands. Sales of store-brand items increased nearly three times faster than sales of national name brand products last year, according to the Private Label Manufacturers Association.

NPR reported that a survey released by AlixPartners in December found that a majority of respondents planned to spend as much or more on food in 2026 but would seek out cheaper groceries and try to avoid impulse buying. Grocery industry analyst Phil Lempert said consumers are saying "Give us a break" and "This is food.

" He said budget grocery stores tend to be smaller than the typical 40,000-square-foot supermarket, carry fewer items, have smaller staffs and operate with greater efficiency.

Phil Lempert said Aldi doesn't unpack boxes of canned goods but has employees tear off the tops of shipping boxes and place them directly on store shelves. He said discount stores are bare-bones compared to stores like Wegmans which have beautiful service departments and signage.

Rachel Negro-Henderson said she can't always buy everything on her list at Aldi and purchases some items elsewhere like a local deli or butcher.

She said there are still things as a good New Jersey Italian that she will only buy from another store, like lunch meat. Rachel Negro-Henderson and Rich Henderson said they were drawn to Aldi by its low prices, GMO-free store-brand items and the company's sustainability ethos.

Rich Henderson said the more they shopped at Aldi and tried products, the more they realized quality-wise you're not really sacrificing anything except name brands.

You're sacrificing name brands for the most part, but the quality is still great," Henderson said. Kiki Rough posts videos of Depression-era, recession-era and wartime recipes on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.

She said she was inspired by her own personal experience with food insecurity. Phil Lempert said he expects frugal grocery practices to stick around including a focus on lower prices. He said people are using shopping lists more than ever before, shopping more online to compare prices, and are tired of getting ripped off on food prices.

Phil Lempert said Generation Z and millennial shoppers tend to care less about a supermarket's bells and whistles than their parents and baby boomers. He said we're never going to go back to shopping the old way.