Value Grocery Stores Outstrips Traditional Grocers in Visit Growth

Placer.ai recently noted that limited-assortment value grocery stores like Aldi and Grocery Outlet Bargain Market have done well in the past few years. Consumers have increasingly sought to reduce the pressure of inflation and the accumulated price increases that has delivered, especially in key areas like food.

That has only grown in strength. Not surprising, perhaps, because food prices haven’t seen a rollback, just slower growth. The results for the two chains are significant. “In May 2024, year-over-year (YoY) visits to Aldi and Grocery Outlet Bargain Market grew 26.3% and 14.3%, respectively – while visits to traditional grocery chains increased by 7.9%,” Placer.ai wrote.

Limited-assortment groceries use some strategies to contain costs for consumers. They carry fewer overall products than a typical grocery chain, which reduces overhead expenses, and also use other techniques like private label products, opportunistic merchandising, and fewer in-store amenities.

According to Placer.ai’s foot traffic marketing, while “visits to the overall grocery segment grew by 7.9% YoY, while Aldi and Grocery Outlet Bargain Market experienced YoY growth of 26.3%, 14.3%, and respectively.”

The growth was due to several factors. “Aldi added dozens of new stores in 2023 – with hundreds more in the pipeline – and Grocery Outlet Bargain Market also significantly grew its footprint,” Placer IA. “But the average number of visits to both brands’ individual locations also increased, again outpacing traditional grocery, showing that their expansion is meeting robust demand.”

Throughout the first five months of the year, Aldi has seen double-digit year-over-year growth: 16.1% in January; 25.9% in February; 23.3% in March; 21.6% in April; and 23.2% in May. Compare that to 4.2%, 9.8%, 9.9%, 7.2%, and 8.4% for Grocery Outlet Bargain Market. Regular grocery stores were 2.4%, 8.2%, 9.4%, 3.9%, and 8.1%, being behind in each month.

Also, over the last three years, both the limited-assortment chains saw increases in customer loyalty through an increase in loyal visits. “In April 2022, for example, 28.0% of visits to Aldi and 27.0% of visits to Grocery Outlet Bargain Market were made by people who visited the chains at least four times during the month – but by 2024, these shares grew to 30.1% and 30.2%, respectively. A similar trend was observed in May 2024.”