Are these 'cheaper' shops really cheaper?

I'm the worlds worst at using vouchers - I either lose them or forget they're there until they're out of date. My DIL works for one of big supermarkets too and regularly gets huge discounts on stuff just in date or past it - how soap powder can be past it I don't know! My son says she'll come home from her late shift with cakes neither of them should be eating

hmm yes ...as sometimes they come printed on an A4 sheet ....but others come minuscule lol ...Im sure with techy they will develop app on phone or something wizzardary lol but they are coming thick and fast at the moment.

I wonder how much all those vouchers cost them in paper and printer ink bikergran

As I work in a well know big supermarket I usually do most of my shopping there as I have 10% off.

There are lots of people who come with the vouchers, that give money off their shop if it shows they could have bought cheaper elsware.
You have to go on the website and print of the voucher to redeem the money off your next shopping bill.
Hence it does keep customers coming . The least I have had through my till was prob about 67p..the highest was £16 last week where it was a toy.

Also there is a customer who comes in with lots and lots of these vouchers, buys almost the equivalent of shopping and ends up paying virtually nothing because of the vouchers. Of course you have to input the codes etc but if you have time to do this and are quite good at it, it can save you money.Must say I never do it myself as I only buy small bits at a time.
What people are seem to be doing now is bulk buying when items are on offer....

We have an Asda, Tesco and Lidl in our small town and Morrisons 10 minutes away in the next town. The quality of the meat and veg in our Lidl is very good. I do a weekly shop in Morrisons, a top up in Asda and once a month I visit Lidl for jam, olive oil, and various continental items. I bulk buy baby wipes for my granddaughter who has very sensitive skin, as they are so much cheaper than the well known brands. Also their wines have won awards and I buy their more expensive wines as gifts for family.
The only downside about Lidl is that centre isle. Any savings I make are blown away on stuff I don't need!.
However, I do find the cooked meat dates are never very far in advance. .

I tried and failed to shop at the cheap supermarkets. The vegetables are ok but the range is limited. I don't buy processed meats unless its the home made ham from our butcher. We have a good Morrisons for bread and fresh veg (our bakers and green grocers closed of course when Morrisons opened). I go to Sainsbury for the bigger shop. The butcher for meat and the fish shop for fish.

Hmm, all very interesting. Think I will head off to Lidl this pm. And will look up the closest Aldi. Have to say, currently order shopping from ocado, which is very good and reliable but very tempting.

I agree the chocolate is much better quality in Lidl and Aldi, plus the jam has a much higher fruit content than British jam. I rarely shop in Tesco and Sainsbury’s - both very overpriced.

An acquaintance who works in the local slaughterhouse, has told me that they supply A+ quality meat to Aldi, A quality to M& S and B or C to the other supermarkets. I do think the fresh meat in Aldi is better than other supermarkets but do wonder how they manage to sell it cheaper than the others when they pay more wholesale.

Also like that most of the meat, fish and much of the cold meats is produced locally - even the beer in the beer battered fish is brewed in our Wee County.

I do most of my shopping in Aldi now. I've never had any problems with keeping fruit and veg. They have some lovely wines, this year there's a Valpolicella dessert wine which is very good value and last Christmas they had a Franciacorta for £14.99 which is half the price you'd pay at the big wine merchants. Their chocolate is apparently made by one of the biggest manufacturers in Germany and very good quality. Looking forward to the posh panetonne which is due in tomorrow!

They build Lidl across the road from Sainsbury's last year and then this year put an Aldi and BM Stores (which also sells food) just nearby. We're only a small town and also have a Co-Op in the garage as well as small independent supermarkets in the actual town centre so we're well 'stocked' with choice. I use them all occasionally but we still end up going to Tesco and sometimes Morrisons for the weekly shop which are about 10 miles away. I think it's more a case of habit and what we know as well as a weekly outing - I don't get out much! I do like Lidl's bread and they have some lovely frozen items which we will get for Christmas when we've eaten our way through the freezer first

We shopped at aldi for around 2 years and we saved an enormous amount of money compared to our normal shop at Tesco BUT all Of A Sudden It Went Downhill and We Noticed Many Changes ...please Ignore All These CAapitals I Must Have Pressed A Button In Error and Dont Know How To Change It.
Sliced Roast Beef Went From 5slices To 4 Then To 3 And Soo Thin It Was See Through. Fruit And Veg Quality Changed. Fresh Fish Went Smaller Pieces. Many Changes All For The Worse.
There Were Also A Lot Of Things We Tried Once And Never Bought Again too ..meat Pies..pizzas..cakes. sausages were Always Vile From There. We Eventually Went Back To Tesco And Dont Regret It .

I do so agree about open shelves for bread and cakes. A sneeze can go to 30 ft and I get the shudders at the number of people who sneeze and cough over food . Even if they cough into their hands it's still ugh. Why won't people learn to carry a hanky and USE it.

I have both Aldi and Waitrose in this small town - also Morrisons. I buy fruit and veg in Aldi. Have you ever asked yourself why these last longer in the more traditional supermarkets? Do they get some special treatment like irradiation? Their detergents and toiletries are markedly cheaper than those in other supermarkets and of perfectly acceptable quality. I have heard (from discerning friends) good reports of their skincare products. Chocolate from both Aldi and Lidl is superior to the Americanised gunk now masquerading as Cadbury's and other formerly British brands. Luxuries I buy in Waitrose which is virtually my corner shop.

I bought fruit scones from the bakery section in Lidl as they looked so good.
Unfortunately, although there were a couple of sultanas on the outside there was no fruit at all inside.
Looked like a plain scone 'decorated' with two sultanas

I do not have an Aldi, Lidl, or Asda near me so I can only judge Aldi on what other people have given me and it would be an understatement to say I was unimpressed.

A roast chicken totally devoid of flavour (and this was from someone who has always been an excellent cook) and so white, it could have been bleached

A packet of shortbread, a gift that looked like a packet of Walkers's shortbread, which on opening had a clear plastic biscuit holder than gave 2 small biscuits in each corner and 2 small ones in the middle, nearly half the pack had no biscuits in it. They were bright yellow and tasted 'chemical'

Some croissants that were very sweet and had the texture of cake.

Oh no CherryHatrick, we have nothing like that! It sounds much more hygienic!

The ones in my local Lidl are open and at waist level so accessible to all, including pesky children who touch things and put them back! I shall check if there are perspex flaps above them to (perhaps) stop coughs and sneezes hitting the goods, but I am pretty sure it's all left on trays which are open. You do have to bag stuff yourself with tongs, but not everyone uses them I've noticed.

Other than that I like Lidl and Aldi. I think they are especially good for food bargains at Christmas time.

No one has mentioned Aldi's centre aisle! There could be anything - shoes, gifts, bedding, tools. Always notice lots of men interested. I wouldn't like to do a big shop on my own though. It could be an Olympic sport! Every second counts. DH and I have clearly defined roles in Oder to move away from till area. The staff (although few) are very friendly.

I always treat myself to fresh flowers in Aldi. They do have some good wines as well which I may treat myself to after I’ve stocked up on the basics.

Day6 you must have a different system in the UK from the Lidl and Aldi shops here in Spain. Both shops have perspex fronts on the bakery shelves with a long-handled rake through a slot in it, and you have to manoeuvre your buns out of the side gap into a chute and thence into your paper bag....ne need to touch with your fingers.

^ missed veg and bread from Lidl^ got carried away with myself again.oops.

Day6 I expect those baked goods only sell because others haven’t noticed what you have!
I am greatly put off too, from buying from open counters and shelves.If you can touch them, so can others.

My local shops are M&S/Lidl and B&M all in the same area,so I buy all my dried goods in B&M once a month, veg and thick seeded bread which I split in half and freeze it is delicious and costs just 65p finish off at M&S for a meal deal treat for Sunday I never spend more than £40.00 now for my weekly shop and all is good quality produce giving us 3 good meals a day and a stocked "dried cupboard"

I've no brand loyalty really and follow the bargains. As Tesco have just sent me yet another money off voucher - £14 off a £70 shop - and I always find plenty of 3 for 2s and other offers there, they will get my next "big shop". I haven't been altogether convinced by Lidl and Aldi yet, but I do like their chocolate and the whiskey drinkers I buy for like their whiskey.

Saving 30% on basics is a no brainer for me. I then pop across the road to Sainsburys for gluten free things I can't get in Aldi.