Lidl has overtaken Waitrose as shoppers turn to discounters.

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  • We used to be solid Sainsbury's customers but now spend a proportion of the weekly shop at Lidl. Particular bargains are the slow cooked ribs, shanks, pulled pork etc. Their steaks are pretty decent too. Plenty of upmarket cars in the car park so it's not just those at the bottom now shopping there.

  • Sainsbury's has always been a bit too pricey for me, so it has been mostly Tescos up to about five years ago. Iceland now gets a good chunk of our shopping, some things they do cheaper than anyone. They do great toilet roll!

    Lidl and Aldi are really starting to gain traction in my area too. Morrison's moved in about ten years ago, so they used to be the cheapest, until Iceland became more competitive, and as Heero commented, you could tell by the cars parked in their car parks, that some of the shoppers were very wealthy.

    Now, Aldi and Lidl are moving their tanks onto Morrison's and Iceland's territory. We do have some Asdas in my area, but not many.

    The only thing I find with the German discounters, is that you don''t always find the same stuff in there. So, if you see it and like it, grab it!

    Tesco still dominates with a quarter of all food shopping done in their shops. We have billions of Tescos in my area. They are literally, everywhere.

  • The only thing I find with the German discounters, is that you don''t always find the same stuff in there. So, if you see it and like it, grab it!

    Yes that's my complaint too, sometimes the special promotions aren't actually put out by the time I go in on the Saturday morning even though they've been open for about an hour they still seem to be stocking up the shopfront. Sometimes some items of fresh veg go missing as well.

    Overall though they're very keenly priced especially for things like deli meats. It has been noticeable at Sainsbury's that the prices of the fresh veg have fallen quite considerably as the discounters have risen.

  • Didn't know that about Sainsburys. I guess if they don't compete, they lose.

    Tesco are very assertive in my area on basics to get you into their shops. 4 pints of milk for a £1. Not good for the farmers, though...

    Interesting point. Pre Lidl/Aldi there used to be a lot of people moaning that supermarkets were driving down prices making it tough for farmers. Now Lidl and Aldi have turned up no one gives a toss...

    In my experience the two shops are quite different. Aldi has a lot of poor quality brands and is only any good for fresh food. Lidl is much better, more variety and better quality but not as cheap. I tend to stick to Sainsbury's or Tesco because it is easier to park and shop e.g. scan as you shop.

  • Scan as you shop?? New one on me, Hoxton. Is that available in both shops? How does one go about "scanning and shopping"? I like the sound of no tills do deal with.

    It's at Tesco and Sainsbury's near me. Tesco is better, no till at all.

  • You need their clubcard/nectar card, then just go to customer services. I forget what you needed to do but it was easy in both cases. Occasionally they do a random full check, perhaps once in ten visits, probably less.

  • tescos for me ; sainsburys for my partner. Waitrose for the both of us! All 3 are near so we mix n match depending on our mood

  • Sainsbury's just happens to be in easy walking distance and just round the corner from the local so it's easy to combine the two. Lidl's is also in walking distance but quite a bit further towards the sea. It's down an old footpath through the twittens and quashetts. Sussex dialect names for old passages as these now run behind houses and factory units.

    I usually do Lidl's Saturday morning as that's when I take the car out for exercise as apart from going to clients and down the West Country it doesn't get a lot of use. (I work from home and the OH's work is an easy walk away) Interestingly our Lidl is almost opposite a Waitrose.

  • Britain’s ‘Big Four’ supermarkets all lost market share in the 12 weeks to 8 October despite growing sales, as the march of the discount chains continued, according to industry figures.

    Discount chains Aldi and Lidl continued their strong runs, with sales up 13.4% and 16%, respectively.

    The rise of the discounters, especially Aldi and Lidl, shows no sign of abating.

    It wasn't that long ago that most people went to one supermarket once a week and did one big shop for the whole week, now the trend is to go at least a few times a week and use different shops, a bit like the good 'ole days.

    Anyone else here use Aldi or Lidl?

    I'm getting a local-ish Aldi store soon in time for Christmas, but it will be hard for them to beat Iceland on price. Iceland are just about the cheapest you can get.

    Do we reckon the rise of the discounters is just a trend for now, or symptomatic of something more long term?

    The big four have a huge network of gigantic supermarkets and they can only be profitable if they get large numbers of customers through their doors spending lots of money. I have a feeling this chip, chip of the discounters may have long term consequences for the Big 4.

  • Aldi has been rated the UK's best supermarket, nudging previously top-ranked Waitrose down to fourth place.

    Customers criticised Aldi stores for being "untidy" and for a lack of staff availability, but rated them highly for offering value for money, according to consumer group Which?.

    Marks and Spencer was second, winning marks for store appearance and product quality. Lidl ranked third.

    The large supermarkets fared worst, with Sainsbury's ranked last of nine.

    Looks like the German discounters continue their ascent up the ladder to win the hearts and minds of British shoppers, but more importantly their wallets.

    I have some Aldi's in my area and while they are not in the same league as the big supermarkets, you can get a lot of bang for your buck from these shops.

    I'm starting to come around to actually preferring these shops with their own brands. Who needs ten different choices of olive oil, when you can just have one?

  • TESCO is reportedly planning to launch a chain of cut-price stores to rival budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl.

    The company is understood to be developing a separate brand that would match its German competitors on price with a more limited range than in its main stores.

    The big supermarkets aren't just going to roll over and let the Germans knock them off their top spots, but what can they really do about it?

    The big 4 have huge networks of shops and some of these shops are absolutely gigantic. I have three large Tescos within a 5-15 minute drive of my home.

    The choice in these stores is vast, but as I was saying above, who needs multiple choices of olive oil, or any other goods for that matter?

    With their huge costs, are the Big 4 in danger of being priced out of the market, even if they do launch schemes like Tescos and introduce more of their own cut price branded goods?

  • The reason you have four different choices is because Tesco get them for next to nothing , I like Lidl and Aldi ,for instance , Apple pies as good as Mr kiplings for 75p , their veg is excellent , meat is very good , people are staring to realise these facts . The problem with own brands in the UK is they are associated with low quality , Lidl and Aldi have exploited this fact .

  • I've been using Iceland a lot over the last few years, I have one near me and for the price of a weekly shop in Tescos, you can get at least a third more shopping. More recently, I ventured into the Aldi stores too which seem to be popping up everywhere and they are pretty good.

    Perhaps shoppers don't need a choice of ten different selections of baked beans, they just need one and for that to be as cheap as possible.

  • We shop at Aldi every week and have done for quite a while, of course it helps that the nearest one is within easy walking distance but aside from that they are cheaper than the big supermarkets and the quality of the products is just as good if not better in most cases, the fact they don't have the big brands doesn't bother me in the slightest as a big brand name does not guarantee good quality despite the premium price.

  • big brand name does not guarantee good quality despite the premium price.

    That is so true, often the premium brand is more packaging than actual product as well as being far more exensive. I tend to buy the supermarkets own brands anyway so the single offering in my Lidl's just mkes it simpler.

    Veg and meat, particularly deli, is really good value and quality.

  • I have some Aldi's in my area

    I wonder how you pronounce the name of it, because as far as I'm concerned, vocals are something that you want to avoid.

    German, with different opinions.

    Please correct my spelling and grammar mistakes ;)

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