ALDI's Prices '45 Percent Lower' Than Mainstream Grocery Stores: Study

The Washington, D.C.’s Consumers’ Checkbook, aka checkbook.org, recently compared prices and rated local grocery stores for quality, based on consumer surveys and they found ALDI grocery store prices to be a whopping 45 percent lower than Safeway and Giant.

Out of checkbook.org’s extensive grocery store survey, we are zeroing in on their study of ALDI, which is opening three stores in the Alexandria area. The first will open next month at Seminary Plaza.

Checkbook.org said they found ALDI’s prices “were an astounding 45 percent lower than the Giant/Safeway average” for their full market basket including comparable national-brand items.

See also: What You Need to Know About Shopping at ALDI Grocery Stores

MOM’s Organic Market - Arlington Grand Opening This Weekend

But checkbook.org said these savings at ALDI can come with a downside: ALDI was rated “relatively low” on many aspects of quality—but not as low as Giant or Safeway for “overall quality.”

Another finding from their study: ALDI shoppers will also have to shop at conventional supermarkets: ALDI carried only 53 percent of the items in their market basket in stock, checkbook.org said.

Other findings:

• MOMs, My Organic Market, which received very high ratings, offered the lowest prices in the area for organic food, the checkbook.org study said.
• For the items that could be compared based on unit prices (price per pound, for example), membership warehouse stores offered king-sized savings: Costco, for example, beat Safeway by a whopping 33 percent.
• And compared to Safeway, the savings were about 27 percent at both BJ’s and Sam’s Club. These savings perhaps aren’t enough to justify paying the clubs’ annual membership fees if you don’t use them often, checkbook.org said.