Reddit User Calls Out 'The Most Pretentious' Aldi Review
Aldi has a very loyal clientele of people who, once having shopped at Aldi, have never even looked in the direction of another grocery store. You could say that Aldi has a cult-like following, but that's also because the supermarket chain is smart, gets a lot of things right, and ticks a lot of important boxes for its customers.
For one, Aldi has been unanimously praised for having a pretty decent collection of food items at a competitively low price, something the chain manages to do through the use of a few clever tricks (via Southern Living). The supermarket stocks items stacked inside the boxes they come in, and encourages customers to put their shopping carts back themselves thanks to the quarter system. This means there's less work for employees and so, less spent on employee paychecks (via Taste Of Home). Another way Aldi keeps its prices low is by having its own brand of food items. Instead of familiar items from big brands, 90% of an Aldi store is stocked with items produced under its own private labels, saving the supermarket big bucks.
However, one Aldi shopper thinks that the lack of big brands and an overflow of brandless, privately labeled products come at the cost of healthy competition that should motivate the store to constantly improve its products. In a screenshot of an Aldi store's review posted on Reddit, the shopper claims that the lack of options makes Aldi part of a conspiracy to "mute individuality."
Reddit is coming in defense of Aldi
Per the review shared on Reddit, the shopper claims that Aldi's lack of branded labels and options prevents people from trying new things. Allegedly, it's the supermarket's way of telling Americans, "we don't care what you want, here's what we say you need." Reddit, however, is calling this reviewer out for being pretentious and over the top.
Aldi's fans say that a lack of big brands and an endless sea of options is precisely what makes Aldi stand out — and why they prefer the store over others. "I get overstimulated really quickly in a grocery setting. I like not having 5,000 choices of everything to pick through to find crackers and cocoa," wrote one shopper. Another comment said, "Yup! Aldi is very aware of the 'paradox of choice' problem." Others claimed that shopping at Aldi not only saved money but also mental and physical energy, referring to the tons of sneaky tricks most supermarkets employ to make shoppers hunt for items (which results in more time and money spent there).
Some fans defended Aldi by pointing out that most branded products are often similar to each other. Aldi simply cuts out the noise by giving one simple, cheap alternative that usually does an equally fine job and prevents shoppers from facing decision fatigue. Besides, fans claim that Aldi has just enough variety to keep things fresh, while making it simple enough for you to go in and out through the store quickly.