From their high-quality goods to their incredibly low prices, it’s no wonder that Aldi has amassed such a sizable consumer following. That said, the supermarket isn’t without its eccentricities. In addition to its pared-down (almost industrial) aesthetic and its music-free environment, Aldi also boasts one very unique design feature that has long boggled the minds of its patrons, and that’s the big and bold barcodes plastered over products. While these labels may be somewhat of an eyesore, there’s actually a perfectly logical reason as to why barcodes are so large at Aldi.
At Aldi, efficiency is the name of the game. A strategic solution to save time, the gigantic barcodes sprawled on boxes and packages can help cashiers, as well as customers at self-checkout kiosks, to locate the barcodes more quickly and speed up the checkout process. Hence, why barcodes are also often scattered on an item multiple times. As for exactly how much time is saved with this design feature, Aldi reports that their colossal barcodes lead to a whopping 40% faster check-out experience. The question is, how?
Since there’s no need to pause and search for a singular and small barcode, Aldi’s well-labeled products can be scanned from any and all angles imaginable. In turn, this ensures that customers spend less time being held up in long lines as items can be scanned rapidly. Impressive as this sounds, barcodes aren’t the only trick Aldi has up its sleeve when it comes to streamlining customers’ shopping experience.
All the ways that Aldi amps up efficiency
Before patrons even pile into the supermarket, every Aldi across the nation is laid out in a way that’s especially easy to navigate. Not only are there jusr a handful of aisles, but they’re also stocked with a very limited number of items — roughly 1,400 products versus the tens of thousands offered at competing retailers — which results in less time spent deciding on what to purchase. What’s more, because Aldi lacks a deli counter and (unlike Lidl) isn’t usually equipped with an in-store bakery, shoppers also aren’t subject to waiting additional time for these types of products. Instead, packaged goodies can be tossed into shopping carts in seconds.
Once customers have made their selections of fan favorites, Aldi prides itself on expediting the check-out process. Along with easy-to-scan barcodes, most stores offer self-checkout kiosks that offer shoppers a faster alternative to waiting in line for a clerk. Regardless of which option you decide, Aldi still requires customers to bag their groceries themselves. In turn, this frees up more clerks to help customers pay for their items. As if that weren’t enough, patrons are even encouraged to pack their items at dedicated bagging counters that are positioned away from the register in an effort to avoid holding up others in line.
Whether or not you’re a fan of Aldi’s surplus of time-saving strategies, there’s no denying that they work. Gigantic barcodes and beyond, the supermarket is nothing if not efficient!
