Aldi keeps on growing in the Uk - How does it look inside an Aldi store?

This year has been a time of remarkable growth for the German discounter Aldi. Since September 2021, Aldi’s market share has grown by 1,2%-points to 9,3%. The previous 1,2%-point rise took four years for the company. One can say that the growing inflation has been benefiting the discounter.

As a consequence of the rapid growth Aldi has achieved, other retailers in the Uk market have become more and more aware they have to do something to stop Aldi’s streak. Tesco and Sainsbury’s have introduced a scheme called “Aldi price match”, which they promote visibly in their stores. One could argue that it is free advertising for Aldi, but Aldi’s rivals have been unarmed previously, so they have to do something.

Sainsbury’s advertising Aldi in one of its stores

While Aldi’s competitors focus on how they can match Aldi prices, Aldi gives out a very different tone message in its stores.

There’s not much price communication, and the few price messages are delivered very subtly. On the other hand, Aldi stores bring up quality with their black signs and lovely brand building such as “the Bakery”.

Even though the assortment is much narrower than in Tesco or Sainsbury’s, Aldi can always imply it has a wide assortment even though it doesn’t.

The store itself, located near Clapham Common, is quite usually sized Aldi store. It’s not a giant hypermarket or a small local shop, but somewhere in between. The first benefit customers get is the easyness with which they can navigate through the store compared to big hypers.

One thing Aldi is very good at is customer communication in the store. The store is the best media, so why not take full advantage of it? Aldi reinforces its brand messages by communicating brand messages in stores. This is something relatively few retailers do well.

Another notable point concept-wise is the signage. In the Aldi store, the signs communicate with images. In London, where there are multiple nationalities, and English language skill is not apparent to everyone, this move is simply clever.

The store is excellent. Too bad yours truly got kicked out from the store for taking photos. :)