What's hot and what's not at Aldi/Lidl/Netto
Supercheap supermarkets Lidl, Aldi and Netto smack the bottoms of their big name competitors when it comes to prices. The problem is their products can be hit and miss. To beat this I asked MoneySavers to rate the good from the bad – to help you find what to buy.
Lidl, Aldi and Netto: The Lowdown
They may not be as widespread as the well known supermarkets but if you've one in your area Lidl, Aldi and Netto are well worth checking out. Use the store finders on their sites to see if there's one near you.
How come they're so cheap?
Shop overheads are kept to a minimum to keep prices low. To do this they locate stores where land prices are lower, keep store furnishings to a bare minimum and charge for carrier bags. Lidl and Aldi don't provide baskets and tend to use coin-operated trolleys instead. Also, all three don't accept credit cards (apart from some Scottish and Welsh stores) so remember to take cash or a debit card with you.
Weekly specials
All three have special offers which change every Thursday; you can often pick up some cracking deals on electronics as well as everyday groceries. Lidl and Netto also have additional offers on Mondays. Keep your eyes peeled for deals on their websites or, even better, Lidl and Aldi both send weekly offers by email – sign up and you'll be the first to know.
The Great ‘Top Stuff at Aldi/Lidl/Netto' Hunt Results
Each week in my weekly Money Tips e-mail there's a Great Hunt which taps MoneySavers collective research power for the greater good. The following are the result of the that hunt (see the original). Our exacting judges have assessed everything from cider to shower gel – hopefully it'll help you decide which products are worth switching to.
How to use the chart
Find the item you're interested in to see if it scored well or just didn't deliver. To make the verdicts easier to decipher I gave each product a weighting. Where someone liked it, it got a plus point, where they didn't like it, it was given a minus point. So for example, just one person mentioned having bought whisky from Aldi and didn't like it so its weighting is -1.
Aldi,Lidl and Netto
|
|
Aldi |
Lidl |
Netto |
|
2007 Vina Decana Rosado |
1 |
||
|
Beer |
1 |
2 |
|
|
Blue Vodka |
1 |
||
|
Bordeaux |
1 |
||
|
Bottled Bitter Beer |
1 |
||
|
Cider |
-1 |
1 |
|
|
Dark Rum |
2 |
||
|
Dry White Wine |
2 |
||
|
French Cognac |
1 |
||
|
German Beers (All varieties) |
1 |
||
|
GraffenWalder Lager |
1 |
||
|
Hobgoblin |
1 |
||
|
Hoegaarden |
1 |
||
|
Lager |
3 |
1 |
|
|
Own Brand Pimms |
3 |
||
|
Peach Schnapps |
2 |
||
|
Prosecco |
5 |
||
|
Red Wine |
2 |
1 |
|
|
Rose Pinot Grigio Wine |
1 |
||
|
Rose Wine |
1 |
||
|
Schofferhoffer Beer |
2 |
||
|
Southern Belle |
1 |
||
|
Spirits and Liquors |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Tequila |
1 |
||
|
Tio Nico Sherry |
1 |
||
|
Toffee Liquor |
1 |
||
|
Wernesgruner pilsner |
2 |
||
|
Whisky |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Wine |
6 |
5 |
|
|
Wychwood Black Wytch |
1 |
||
|
Baby Food |
1 |
||
|
Baby Wipes |
5 |
2 |
|
|
Nappies |
6 |
2 |
|
|
Barms |
1 |
||
|
Bread |
1 |
-1 |
1 |
|
Bread Mixes |
5 |
||
|
Bread Sticks |
2 |
||
|
Brioche |
1 |
3 |
|
|
Cream Crackers |
1 |
||
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