Caitlyn Pratt is an avid Aldi shopper, so much so that she crosses state lines a few times a month, driving 45 minutes from her home in Heavener, Oklahoma to the nearest Aldi in neighboring Arkansas.
The distance doesn’t bother her if it means she can do these three things: Stay within budget for her household needs, skip Walmart, and most importantly, indulge in a fun little affordable treasure hunt in a place that Aldi superfans have dubbed the “aisle of shame.”
Aldi, a privately-held German discount grocer that touts a Walmart-like sales pitch of everyday low prices, has operated in the US since 1976 when it opened its first store in Iowa. It operates more than 2,000 stores nationwide and 12,000 stores worldwide.
Inside every Aldi store is a single aisle of merchandise that mostly has nothing to do with groceries. The retailer describes it as “a rotating assortment of specialty items available for a very limited time.” It could be anything from a garden hammock to a furry sweater for your pooch. The prices are startling, with many of these items costing just a few bucks.
Aldi calls it the “Aldi Finds” aisle. Superfans have a more colorful alternative for it – the “aisle of shame.”
Aldi in Loxahatchee Groves, Fla. Lannis Waters/USA Today Network
Novice shoppers to the grocery chain might think it’s a mishmash of randomly selected stuff shoved into the shelves, sometimes spilling onto the floor after a wave of customers descend on a Wednesday morning and make a beeline for the one item that week that went viral. But often the products are carefully selected and seasonally timed to meet what customers are already looking for.
The Wednesday rush can often be pinned on die-hard Aldi shoppers, 3 million of whom are members of the very active Aldi Aisle of Shame Facebook page and frequently post about their latest aisle of shame hauls.
Pratt is one of them. She happily admits that the aisle of shame is as much a catalyst for her as Aldi’s famously low prices – which research has found can be as much as 15% cheaper than a Walmart in some markets – to get her to make those monthly 42-mile Aldi trips in her car.
Temptation alley
Pratt, who’s been an Aldi shopper for more than 12 years, likes Aldi so much she avoids going to a Walmart supercenter just 15 minutes from her home “at all costs.”
“When you go into a Walmart and you’re looking for a can of green beans, you have 18 different options. In Aldi, there’s one, and maybe one other. I can get in and out and get exactly what I need without spending forever in there,” Pratt said.
When she’s done with her grocery list, she hits the middle aisle to scoop up a bargain or two on a variety of other items.
Aldi Finds might include anything from shovels, plastic garden gnomes, patio rugs, deck furniture (depending on the season), to candles, bedding sets, greeting cards, sneakers, lighting fixtures, pet beds, clothing, exercise equipment and cookware at startlingly low prices.
Some items, such as sneakers, are substitutes for name brands and priced at $13 for a pair.
The miscellaneous mix is refreshed weekly, usually on Wednesday. “Fans love our ALDI Finds aisle because it takes the average grocery trip from errand to adventure,” the company said in an email to CNN.