Shopping for food is usually more of a chore than a leisure activity.
Sure, some retailers make it more fun than others.
At Costco, you can sample free goodies while you’re walking around doing your shopping. And if you’ve ever had the pleasure of shopping at Stew Leonard’s, you’ve no doubt appreciated the store’s fun, festive atmosphere and unique food offerings.
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But for many people, the goal of grocery shopping isn’t enjoyment — it’s accomplishing an errand as quickly as possible.
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Some supermarket chains have taken steps to get customers in and out the door at rapid speed. To that end, they’ve installed self-checkout lanes in the hopes of helping customers move through the lines faster.
But Aldi, for the most part, doesn’t have self-checkout at its stores. And there’s a reason for that.
Aldi delights fans by copying key Trader Joe’s strategy.
Image source: Shutterstock
Aldi copies an essential Trader Joe’s move
There are certain things Trader Joe’s does differently from its competitors.
For one thing, it publishes prices online and aims to offer the same prices across all of its locations.
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Trader Joe’s also puts a huge emphasis on customer service. Its employees are known for their kind, helpful attitudes and festive Hawaiian shirts.
But one thing Trader Joe’s won’t cave on is the checkout process.
Trader Joe’s has shunned the idea of self-checkout, stating that it takes away from the customer experience. The supermarket giant would rather its customers interact with helpful employees than line up to use machines that may or may not do what they’re supposed to.
Aldi is smart to follow Trader Joe’s lead
Unlike Trader Joe’s, Aldi has not refused to embrace the self-checkout trend. Some Aldi locations do have self-checkout lanes.
But for the most part, Aldi customers have to talk to a human being in order to purchase their groceries. And that’s not a bad thing.
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Although 77% of consumers claim they prefer self-checkout, according to data from The Payments Association, a lot can go wrong with that technology.
It’s not uncommon for a self-checkout machine to fail to identify the right product, causing problems. And self-checkout lanes are incredibly sensitive, so that if you dare let your hand linger in the bagging area longer than expected, you might get called out. And there’s nothing like being yelled at by a machine to make the checkout experience less pleasant.
Aldi, like Trader Joe’s, is big on customer service. And it doesn’t want its customers to experience the frustration of a self-checkout scan gone wrong.
But that’s not the only reason Aldi has been slow to incorporate self-checkout lanes into its stores.
Aldi prides itself on offering unbelievably low prices. And it may be hesitant to invest in that new technology at a time when food costs are up and the company wants to do everything it can to keep prices down.
Of course, it can be argued that self-checkout machines help reduce labor costs, leading to savings for grocery chains.
But those machines still need to be monitored by a store employee. So all told, the savings may be minimal. Plus, it’s not a given that self-checkout is going to be faster than having a person scan your products for you.
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For these reasons, if your local Aldi doesn’t have a self-checkout option already, don’t expect to see one anytime soon.
