to not understand why people go to Aldi & Lidl...

[TheBeautifulVisit]

… it's such a horrible shopping experience.

It reminded me of being in a co-op in my very small hometown circa 1977. And then when you've got a trolley full of their stuff and queue up to pay there's that humiliating bit at the end where they don't give you sufficient time to pack your groceries. They just expect you to very quickly remove your groceries and go and pack them elsewhere, with no bags.

I feel assaulted.

Can you please tell me

1. how far away is your Aldi or Lidl & why do you go?

2. what do you miss about your old supermarket? (which one was it)

3. how much do you spend there each time you go

It was cheaper than my normal shopping but actually I didn't buy my normal shopping: no fresh chives, no fresh ginger, no butternut squash, no purple sprouting broccoli, no green peppercorns, no little tubs of anchovies & olives from the Waitrose deli. I travelled much further to get there.

And there's no delivery.

Why why why?

I go to Aldi because it saves me shit loads of money and I would rather it was in my pocket than Mr Tesco's pocket.

I only started going a few weeks ago so still am relatively new to it all and there are a few bits I can't get there but overall it's been fab. Ok, not to keen on the speed things are chucked back at me at the tills but I am prepared now, chuck it all back in the basket and then pack at the end.

I reckon I am saving at least £50 per week.

Um, you know you can buy bags there, or take your own? Is that really so alien a concept in this day and age? And if you've been before, you know you just shove the stuff back in the trolley, and pack it elsewhere... Means they aren't paying the person on the checkout to sit and wait for you to finish.

I go frequently to the Lidl 5 minutes walk from my workplace. It has fresh ginger, and BNS, and olives. But you sound like someone who ought to stick to Waitrose.

It's not my favourite supermarket shopping experience, and I still have to go to Sainsbury's for stuff as I've never managed to do a whole week's shopping in there

1. it's about a 5 minute walk away, I go because it's cheaper and closer, 2. I still end up in Sainsbury's - I hate Aldi's sliced bread, their baked beans are vile, ditto fish fingers, my fussy cat won't eat their cat food, etc
2. about £45 a week, I then spend about another £50ish a month in Sainsbury's on bits I can't get in Aldi - our grocery bill is about £150 a month less

VivaLeBeaver YABVVU if you are walking past the goats cheese and the cheese twists in Lidl and going elsewhere for them. They are delish.

I lie the lack of choice. It means I spend much much less, but also, normal supermarkets wear me out. So shiney and big

My favourite thing about Aldi is the speed of the checkout, I can't stand being in Sainsburys and waiting for people to pack their shopping into bags. It makes so much sense to pack it elsewhere

Aldi is fucking awesome.

Hopping

Apart from the fact that my local Lidl sell purple sprouting broccoli, fresh ginger, butternut squash….

It's good food at a good price. I generally cook from scratch, so to me a bag of carrots is a bag of carrots. I get pretty much everything I need there (but I go to a local butcher for meat…but I did that when I went to another supermarket!), I have always brought my own bags (even when shopping at Waitrose) and I find I can be in and out of the shop with a whole week's worth of shipping in just 30 min (with no pricey extras).

So, other than it being:
a, better value
b, good quality (there are some family favourites that only Lidl produce)
c, quicker
d, less distracting

Why do I go there? Because I am currently save enough on the food bill to afford to go skiing this Christmas!

Get over yourself.

I agree, why do you care how far away it is or how much we spend? Unless, of course, you are collecting stats for a nice little Lidl trashing article. Try harder next time journo.

I went to aldi yesterday. It was 12 miles each way.
My local coop is less than half a mile from the house otherwise it's 12 miles to any supermarket.
I did buy tenderstem broccoli, butternut squash and olives (though without anchivies. I did not need ginger and grow my own chives.
Last time I was in Lidl I bought purple sprouting broccoli.

The money I save on essentials (onions, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, apples, broccoli, cauli, cheddar, beans, tinned toms, butter, meat and fish etc) at aldi or lidl mean I have some extra left over for the little treats that you feel your shop lacked.

I used to find the checkouts stressful but actually now I just bung everything into big bags in the bottom of the trolley and sort it out at my own convenience either on the shelf prvided or when I get out to the car.
I spent a little over 60 yesterday, whic is a lot for me as I do marklet/butchers shopping on top normally, but have enough food for everyone over the school holiday and will probably only have to top up on milk. The freezer is full and the cupboards are full.

I don't miss much about any other supermarket because I've never enjoyed supermarket shopping anyway.

I go for the nappies and wipes, I usually end up picking up a load of other stuff I don't need too. Going to the checkout with a basket is bad enough I would never attempt going thru with a full trolley

I'm off there in a tick, why because it's cheap, the meat is excellent quality and I am spending hundreds less every month. I have three within 4 miles. I popped into Asda on Saturday, Urgh give me Aldi every time!

I tried our Lidl, I had a basket of bargains and then saw the enormous queue and one checkout open and abandoned my basket.

I'm sitting here eating olives from aldi, as I type. I have also purchased anchovies there, at regular intervals, and butternut squash.

You poor dahling. Did you have to mingle with poor people too? What an ordeal for you.

I go because it is cheaper and actually find it easier shopping there than our local Tesco because it is smaller and they have trolleys that you can put a baby car seat on which our Tesco doesn't.
The main thing that I can't get is DD formula so do shop at both

1. Lidl is 0.3 miles away
2. I only buy fruit/veg/junk food/booze from Lidl, not an entire grocery shop
3. A fiver at the most

We buy butternut squash and purple sprouting at lidl. The whole point of the checkouts is to improve service and reduce queues. pop it back in your trolley and pack at leisure at the spacious packing area. lovely people at ours. dd was merrily chatting to the checkout guy and giving him a rendition of everything is awesome yesterday.

Because it's cheaper. Not everyone can afford little tubs of things from Waitrose deli. I have been recently converted to Aldi (from tesco) due to my shopping coming to about half the price it used to... and the food is good quality. I'm hoping to do 3 out of 4 weeks in Aldi then a shop in tesco for the stuff I can't get there.

I go because it's cheap and I quite enjoy trawling the weird stuff they have in the middle! I've got no end of things I don't need didn't realise I needed from there.
I do hate the shopping being shoved at you at the end, but I'm not going there for a nice experience.

I also shop in waitrose but I don't expect to get cheap, random stuff from there. Horses for courses.

Well OP take you green bags from Waitrose in your trolley and pack directly into them, one problem solved. Go to Lidl first and then stop at Waitrose on your way back to get anything Lidl didn't have.

Now that's two of your problems solved.

Can't help with the feelings of assault,sorry

Btw, I shop at Lidl because Asda's overcrowdedness brings me out in hives, our local Sainsburys is tiny, and Tesco car park is a frigging nightmare.

I can still buy the essentials I need and it happens to cost about 2/3 of going to one of the aforementioned big supermarkets.

I spend loads less in Lidl/Aldi - partly because there isn't so much other stuff to get lost browsing amongst.

If I go to Sainsburys - the foods are always a little more expensive. But I end up spending a while in the clothing section, or the bedding or dvds whatever. It's easy to spend an extra £30 or £40 without meaning to.

Also I find the food in Lidl and Aldi is fine. I am quite picky too. I buy a lot of fruit and vegetables. Sometimes their meat- on other occasions I go to the butchers instead
The cereals are good, bread, eggs, milk, canned fish etc all as nice as the bigger supermarkets.

I go to Aldi because it is a great deal cheaper for equal or better quality. The whole experience is also MUCH better - you can save a huge amount of time by going to Aldi over the more traditional supermarkets.
Yes, it's odd the first time you go, the way you put your shopping straight back into your trolley, if you are not expecting it, but it actually speeds the whole process up considerably.

1. how far away is your Aldi or Lidl & why do you go? about 3/4mile, very close to the Sainsburys I used to go to

2. what do you miss about your old supermarket? (which one was it) Not a lot - the only thing I go back in for now is wholemeal pasta and spag&sos in a tin

3. how much do you spend there each time you go Around about £50 - shopping for a family of 5, and my dc are teens