I think Aldi have lost the plot. They may be cheaper but I think it's because the quality is not very good. I've been very disappointed with a number of recent purchases so I'm going back to Tesco.
I don't have an Aldi or Lidl anywhere near me. I would never shop at Tesco either. I have a Waitrose and a Sainsburys though and I like both of them, especially Waitrose. Not cheap though, that's the problem.
I do most of my shop at Aldi and would fall into the 'foodie' category, making most things from scratch. Why pay 80p for tinned tomatoes when you can get them in Aldi for 18p? Or genuine Extra virgin olive oil for £2.25 instead of £4.99? Perfectly good French red wine from £3.49. IF you live on ready meals well you may be challenged, but basics are great value at Aldi ,which means for me I can budget for better quality meat from Farmshops.
I'd happily buy things like tinned tomatoes, butter, sugar, hams, milk, etc, I just don't rate their fresh food.
Plus they often don't have what I want.
It takes me 7 minutes to get to my local greengrocer (yes, I am sad enough to time it) opposite is a bakery, 1 min further down is a butchers. The only thing we're missing is a fishmongers.
Ratter have you ever been in Aldi? They sell French 'Torchon' ham off the bone, parma ham, oak smoked ham, and lovely ham trimmings for £1.65 for 500 grms that make lovely quiches -not a plastic bit of ham in sight actually. They have lots of salamis, Italian dry cooked hams and two kinds of Parmesan cheese -that's whole not grated. I doubt you have ever been in.
Yes, Aldi (and Lidl) are so bad that they are massively out-performing all UK supermarkets. And, Which? only give their "Best Supermarket" award on two consecutive years to Aldi because they are terrible!
I think the aldi/lidl shopping experience can vary depending on where you live. Someone on another thread commented on the stores being dirty/disorganised. The ones I go to are always very tidy with well stocked shelves. I find lidls quality to usually be better than aldi....produce is fresher,and their meat is very good. Aldi extra virgin olive oil was rated better that the top national brand,and some of their cleaning products are good.