Aldi manager shares how supermarket giant cuts costs including 'small but clever' £1 trick

An insider at Aldi has disclosed how the supermarket giant is able to maintain low prices for its customers. The budget chain enjoys wide popularity among UK shoppers, largely owing to its pricing structure.

Consumer group Which? named Aldi as the cheapest supermarket for shoppers in 2023 and the budget giant has managed to retain this title throughout the first five months of the year. But what's the secret behind Aldi maintaining such low prices?

One Aldi insider has attributed it to "small" actions taken across various stores over several years. Managing Director of Buying at Aldi, Julie Ashfield, spoke to the Mirror, disclosing some "small but clever" tactics that enable the retailer to cut costs and pass savings onto customers.

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Julie drew particular attention to the £1 coin locks utilised across Aldi stores. She stated that many UK supermarkets now employ the use of pound coin locks on trolleys. However, she stated that it was indeed Aldi that initiated this trend.

She further explained: "By chaining our trolleys and making sure they can only be unlocked using a £1 deposit or token, we are encouraging customers to return their trolleys back to where they found them at the front of the store. This reduces the chance of trolleys getting lost or stolen."

Julie emphasised that the £1 locks also "maximise efficiency" in Aldi stores as employees can "focus on the customer experience" first, without needing to allocate time to collecting trolleys.

Alongside this, Julie says Aldi customers are now given the choice to print their receipts. Julie noted that not only does this reduce unnecessary paper waste, but it has also been a