Attention, Perry Hall Shoppers: How to Shop at ALDI

By MARY ANN BARTON (Patch Staff)

ALDI recently announced it will be welcoming shoppers to its newest grocery store Perry Hall.

Related: ALDI Announces Grand Opening Date

Before the Oct. 15 grand opening, here are some things to know about shopping there.

This information comes from savvy shoppers, various grocery store blogs and from the company itself:

• Bring quarters: In order to use a shopping cart, you’ll need to pay with a quarter. Once you return the cart, you’ll get your quarter back. ALDI notes this helps to keep prices low because they don’t spend time retrieving carts. (Each store typically has just three to five employees working at a time.)
• Leave the credit cards at home: ALDI says they save money by not processing credit cards. By only accepting cash, debit and EBT cards, it helps keep their prices low. They also do not accept checks.
• BYOB: Bring your own bags or be prepared to buy ALDI’s reusable bags ($1.99); ALDI also charges 10 cents for plastic bags or 6 cents for paper sacks, according to the I Am That Lady blog. Also be prepared to bag your own groceries.
• Natural: ALDI has committed to removing certified synthetic colors, partially hydrogenated oils (a source of trans fats) and added MSG from all of its exclusive brand food products. Read more on that here.
• Brands: Don’t look for big brand names at ALDI; 90 percent of the items in the store are ALDI brands. Private brand selections at ALDI include gluten-free (Live g-Free); “free-from” pure foods (Simply Nature); premium specialty (Specially Selected); and better-for-you items (Fit & Active), according to Supermarket News.
• Organic produce: Along with increasing its selections of fresh foods, the store has rolled out organic produce in all stores last year, according to Supermarket News.
• Double-guarantee: If, for any reason, you are not 100 percent satisfied with any product, ALDI will offer a Double Guarantee where they will replace the product and refund your money. (The Double Guarantee does not apply to non-food Special Buy items, alcohol, national brands and non-quality related issues.)
• Multiple bar codes: ALDI adds several bar codes to a product so that cashiers can check customers out faster.
• No coupons: The store does not accept coupons; again the company says by doing this, it saves money and passes savings along to customers.
• No music: Another way the store saves? By not playing any music in its store and not paying music licensing fees.
• Hours: The stores are not open 24-7; most are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays. A typical ALDI store stays open during the most popular shopping hours, according to the ALDI Web site. ”Staying open later would simply add labor costs – and raise our prices,” they note.
• No banks or pharmacies at ALDI stores.