I can't be the only person, but it seems like ALDI is becoming less 'useful' by the day.
Yes, ALDI has the same price everyday, which is good in one sense. However, the same 'everyday' price is lucky to be only marginally lower than the price on special if you just alternate between Coles and Woolworths (whichever has the specific item on special). Might as well just buy the brand name item on special at Colesworth, rather than buy the ALDI brand that is the same price everyday.
Aldi I cheaper becausd most people who do Coles shops just buy the branded goods which are way more expensive
The main advantage of aldi is a faster shop less choice however I find they run out of supply on items
There should be some examples of the "home-branded" goods which should be comparable. One that I know for sure, free range eggs 700g, Aldi ~$4.5, Colesworth ~$4.9, less than 10% difference. The most loved brioche buns used to be $2 or $2.5, the last time I checked is almost the same price with Coles.
The Coles brioche buns are terrible.
Re: eggs, I noted the 700g Aldi Free range eggs are bigger than the 700g Coles Free range eggs.
I think that's because Coles sells 800g Free range eggs but Aldi doesn't so you get the larger eggs in the 700g Aldi Free range eggs.
Unfortunately, 700g Aldi Free range eggs stock has been hit and miss lately. I always find them larger than other brand's 700g Free range eggs.
Yeah coles/woolies are probably ok if you put in hours doing all that extra crap. Aldi just prices stuff low without asking you to do a marathon.
For the "Professionals", what matter most is whether we can get things the cheapest way possible using any (legal) means. It's like a sport, the more challenging it is, the more motivation we have.
Woolworths at least makes it super easy to save a lot if you shop online and get delivery.
Create a list with stuff you order every time, and one with stuff you buy on special.
Add all on the first list, then add as needed from the second list. Then search and add whatever other stuff you have your general shopping list.
Maybe browse the half price specials if feeling sassy.
Takes a few minutes each time. Maybe 10 minutes if you are browsing.
Rewards points are at the checkout, and it's one click to use them to pay for part of your order.
It will be different for everyone, but my orders generally average around 35% saving.
Then some poor person walks around and collects it all, and then it is delivered to your door.
Delivery windows are from 5am to 11pm.
$10 a month Delivery Unlimited means any order over $50 is free delivery. Or $10 and it gets delivered immediately (around 1 hour). Also doubles rewards points.
Otherwise delivery is from free to $15, depending on order value. $15 for immediate.
It's so good. And saves a lot of money and time. Then I can spend that time and money buying discounted things I don't need from OzBargain.
That does sound decent! Thanks for the tip I'll consider it. My only issue with delivery is that they select dodgy veggies and near date meats otherwise id do it every time.
@gakko: So in the checkout you can put instructions in for each item, to the person selecting the items and it saves it so you only need to do it once.
It is super handy. For example early on I had a few issues like ordering a weeks worth of salad kits (I know, I am lazy…) and getting ones that expire in a day to two.
So now my default shopper instructions are to select the longest expiry. Same with any perishables I order, such as meats.
That seems to have eliminated the problem. I have instructions in there like no limp coriander etc.
Though since I started using the Woolworths unlimited, I tend to do two smaller deliveries a week rather than one big one. It's free shipping over $50 so doesn't cost any extra, and with saved lists it's super fast. That way you get the freshest stuff.
The other thing I like is the refunds. Occasionally you get something that has gone bad in expiry, or is damaged etc. And you can lodge for a refund via the automated assistant on the Woolworths site. It takes about 30 seconds and they refund it right away. I presume there is a limit to stop people abusing it, but I have never had any refunds questioned.
It's really nice compared to shopping in store, where actually getting a refund is not worth it. Like I had a bunch of bananas recently that looked fine but had obviously been squashed and were all bruised inside. No way I would bother refunding them in store, but it's super easy when shopping online.
I like it when Aldi does those compare the price ads; Coles should do one with their half price specials and compare it to Aldi's prices (if it comes out cheaper for Coles)
If you only shopped using half price specials you would have some really strange groceries.
Not really; Most perishables aren't on special or prices vary dependent on season, natural disasters, etc.
Deli items; as per below, there is always something on special within the same ranges. Eg. Hams, Salami, etc.
But if we're talking everything else; there's always something on special in every aisle.
Eg.
Cereals
Drinks
Laundry detergents
Pet Food
Frozen foods
Pasta / Sauces
Snack foods
I mean you said it yourself, most perishables aren't on special and don't do half price..
You would not be able to create something that looks good in an advertisement with half price specials.
I’m not toggling between coles & woolies depending on the week. I dont think you cant even use coles discounted gift cards online. I’ll stick with Aldis.
Colesworth have dropped prices by lowering the average sell price on allot of things by:
1) lowering the normal sell price
2) Increasing the special price (lower discount)
So overall for the same quantity they get the same price (expect for CPI and cost increases).
As such ALDI prices are calculated such that they are not increased to allow for discounts and as such the difference between ALDI and Colesworth has decreased such that in the last 4 or so years you need to be aware of the prices at all three to get the best deal.
I have a look at the Colesworth onine catalogs on Monday night and write out a list to buy for later in the week.
Colesworth have not really reduced their prices. All of them have increased their prices, but Aldi has increased their's at a faster relative rate, so the difference has shrunk.
Now Aldi everyday price is basically the same as the 'On Special' Price from Colesworth.
Wasn't long ago that Aldi would be comfortably less than the other two, even when they had specials. Now that's not the case.
I don't shop at Aldi much because their customer service is pretty terrible (constantly faffing around with registers, chucking items at you at the checkout) and their product selection is lacking.
I find that I end up going to Coles and Woolies anyway because I missed a dozen items I couldn't get at Aldi, so now I just skip it altogether.
I always found the price different wasn't enough to warrant going out of my way to save maybe $5-$10 and now it seems even more so. It's exacerbated even more buy the special buys that you find you end up buying crap you didn't need so there goes any savings!
Might as well just buy the brand name item on special at Colesworth, rather than buy the ALDI brand that is the same price everyday.
That only works if the items you want are on special…..
Well obviously, buy at Aldi when they're not on special at Colesworth.
I can't imagine doing a Coles/Wool/Aldi circuit every week. But if it works for you…
There's always something on special on a particular type of grocery.
Just buy the ones on special / stock up when something is half price if it doesn't have a "use by" date
Build market share with low prices then raise those prices to increase profits. That's how it's done.
Aldi may not be cheaper than special prices as wool/coles. However, there are two reasons why Aldi may well still end up cheaper:
1. What you want might not be on special at Coles or Wool
2. You don't have to drive round to multiple shops.
Sure you can probably plan your entire menu around Coles and Wool specials, work out what to stock up on. Plan shopping lists for each store. Do a circuit of multiple supermarkets etc. Or, you could just shop at Aldi and come in at around the same price with less faff.
Anyway, in saying all that. I don't shop at Aldi, because the produce sucks, they are always out of stock of stuff I need, and they won't deliver to my door.
- What you want might not be on special at Coles or Wool
Just choose something different. Eg. Pringles aren't half price? Have kettle (if on special) for half price instead or what ever other brand is on special. Worst case, just buy Coles/Woolworths branded items
- You don't have to drive round to multiple shops.
Don't most Aldi shoppers always still have to go to Coles/Safeway for items they couldn't get at Aldi?
I guess you might be able to get something similar on special in some cases. That is probably more applicable to snack foods though.
Agree with your second point. Which is one of the main reasons I don't go to Aldi. I'm not willing to go to multiple supermarkets to save 5 bucks.
Only things I can think of not on "regular" specials are meat and fruit/veg.
Everything else I can think of has multiple brands with at least 1 of them on special.
@Danstar: Meat, fruit and veg make up the majority of my shopping. The things I really care about the price of week-to-week are perishables. Everything else you can buy online or just get when a special happens to coincide with you being at the store.
Don't most Aldi shoppers always still have to go to Coles/Safeway for items they couldn't get at Aldi?
if it's not in aldi, do you really need it?
Not saying this to promote ALDI as an employee, But just saying if you e.g. compare some of the stuff (SOME) like frozen mango its definately way way better than woolworth/Coles homebrand frozen mango and much cheaper too. That's one item I used to buy even before, and have always preferred over other brands (except like Macro organic ones from woolies which are like 2x the price of it).
Other stuff basic ones like plastic bags, milk, bread, water etc. like that essentials is the same price other supermarkets.
Best way to save is so spend your money wisely, (take into account all CC surchage, GC discount, driving distance, time spent at shopping etc).
Also there's a Weis Mango bar 6pk always for $5.40 compared to specials of $6 at Colesworth.
But you are promoting ALDI.
hope ADLI has the reward program like everyday reward and flybuys
I would have said the same thing if I wasnt an employee dude, which was "Best way to save is so spend your money wisely, (take into account all CC surchage, GC discount, driving distance, time spent at shopping etc)."
I aint getting any benefit from saying above, If that makes any sense.
From your comments; I can take away that you're a mango fan? :D
Might as well just buy the brand name item on special at Colesworth, rather than buy the ALDI brand that is the same price everyday.
That is what I have been doing for the last few months. Combine this with Flybuys offers such as 1200 points for $30 min spend, any savings to be had from shopping at ALDI is completely gone.
I would have to strongly disagree overall but you do have some points.
Since Covid I have noticed Aldi not being as significantly cheap as they were.
However at the same time I've noticed both Coles and Woolworths are completely avoiding discounts on a range of products for example paper towels and specific products are going much much longer without a proper discount. Before I could find a discounted product I wanted within 2-3 months at Coles/Woolworths, now it might be 6 months or more.
Aldi is still the clear winner by miles for many products, especially those that are not basic meat/vegetables. There are some products that at Aldi that are 25-40% of the cost of Coles/Woolworths so you know that even with a 50% off discount they will never match Aldi.
However everything I've said can be offset with Coles in the fact that they keep offering me $50 spends for 4 weeks and getting $50 credit. To me this combined with the convenience of Coles means they will generally win over everyone else. This is not a real $50 savings since Covid though as I already mentioned Coles/Woolworths are screwing us on specials at the moment and high prices or no generic brand for specific areas.
Not to mention if you add up all the 10% off Woolworths mobile/insurance/everyday extra, 4% off gift cards, rewards bonus points, flybuys bonus points, etc.
Also, Harris Farm's fruits and veggies special, especially the one-day manager special, beats Aldi price most of the time, if not always.
I think Aldi is getting complacent.