A store manager at Aldi in Airdrie has revealed insider tips for scooping the best deals at the UK’s Cheapest Supermarket.
Thomas Gallagher, who celebrates his 10th year working at Aldi this month, has shared his top tips on how to secure the newest Specialbuys, enjoy a quiet store experience and pick up the latest Scottish produce offers.
He said:
- Prefer a quieter shopping experience? The best day to shop is Tuesday, particularly before 10am and after 6pm.
- 30%, 50% or 75% discount stockers are applied to products at various points throughout the day as they approach their best-before or use-by dates to help reduce food waste. Products such as rice, pasta, cereal and tinned food are also reduced 30% if the packaging is imperfect.
- Thursday is when our ‘Fresh Weekly Offers’ are launched for meat and fish products, allowing you to snap up the best fresh produce deals.
- Aldi’s middle aisle is iconic for bargain hunters across Scotland. For the latest offering from the Specialbuys range, make sure to visit stores on Thursday and Sunday when the products are launched. Be quick, they don’t stay on the shelves for long!
- Every store is open until 10pm each night, Monday to Saturday, and open until 8pm on Sundays, giving shoppers plenty of opportunities to pick up the best deals.
- Aldi Scotland is one of the best retailers in the country for sourcing Scottish produce, and we sell over 450 locally-made food and drink products from 90 different suppliers.
- On any given week, each Aldi Scotland store will have up to 40 different lines of Scottish fruit and vegetables.
- One thing you might have noticed is that Aldi has smaller stores than other supermarkets. The average Aldi store size is 16,400 sq ft. By comparison, big superstores can be up to 70,000 sq ft. Smaller space means far less being spent on both running costs and maintenance, which in turn allows Aldi to offer lower prices at the tills.
- Since 2019, Aldi has donated 30 million meals, including long-life products, fruit and vegetables and bakery items, to local charities through its partnership with Neighbourly.
- In December 2022, Aldi recorded its best Christmas ever, with sales increasing 26% year on year.
Aldi was crowned UK’s cheapest supermarket in 2022 by consumer champion Which? for the second year in a row.
Additionally, Aldi Scotland scooped the Scottish Sourcing Award from the Scottish Food and Drink Excellence Awards in September, further reinforcing its commitment to retailing and working with Scottish producers.
Graham Nicolson, group buying director, Aldi Scotland, said: “At Aldi, we want to ensure an enjoyable shopping experience for our customers as well as one that is favourable to the bank balance. We provide an extensive range of locally sourced products that our customers now come to expect.”
The first Aldi store in Scotland opened in Kilmarnock in 1994, and today the discounter works with over 90 Scottish suppliers and stocks over 450 Scottish-produced products, giving customers access to some of the freshest, highest quality food and drink available anywhere in the country.
