Range is the lead driver of supermarket consideration. ALDI’s “incomplete” range meant Aussies struggled to commit to ALDI for their weekly shop. Habitually shopping competitors first, ‘topping up’ at ALDI later.

This had a knock-on effect on savings - the less Aussies bought at ALDI, the less they saved. We needed to flip shopper behaviour. This meant shopping ALDI first. We highlighted that whilst ALDI may not have everything, they have most of what you need, making it worth being your first weekly shop destination.

This attracted millions in switched spend from competitors, netting an all-time high for market share.

With a limited range, prolonged COVID-related supply issues and inflation triggering people to shop around for grocery discounts, many shoppers didn’t consider ALDI for more than the occasional top-up-shop.

ALDI’s opportunity was to change shopper behaviour by turning a negative perception into a positive.

The brief: position ALDI as the first place Aussies should shop to save money on the groceries they really need.

Objectives were ambitious:

1.INCREASE FIRST-CHOICE POSITION FOR MAIN-SHOP

With the emphasis on shopping around for discounts, we needed to ensure ALDI was first-choice for the bulk of their baskets.

2.GROW SPEND-PER-BUYER

Despite our condensed range, we wanted shoppers to buy more from ALDI when they did visit, whilst out-performing high inflation.

3.ATTRACT SWITCHED SPEND & GROW SHARE

Encouraging Aussies to complete more of their shop with us, would see grocery spend flow away from competitors, increasing our share of the market.

AUSTRALIA IS ONE OF THE MOST CONCENTRATED GROCERY MARKETS IN THE WORLD.

Low-price supermarket ALDI has grown steadily in the Aussie market for 20 years, but remains a distant third player to competitor duopoly Coles and Woolworths. Local brands with 100+ years of history, holding over 70% market share. The category is valuable, with an annual worth of over AU$100BN.

A successful global brand, ALDI embraces its underdog status in Australia, disrupting supermarket norms with a category-defying business model and an irreverent, quirky tone-of-voice.

COMPETITOR PRICE PROMOTIONS UNDERMINE ALDI’S EVERYDAY LOW PRICE PHILOSOPHY.

Aussies are conditioned to shop discounts. 40% of groceries in Australia are sold on promotion, the second highest in the world. Major competitors deploy constant deals and price-cutting tactics to attract shoppers, while distracting them from rising grocery prices.

But ALDI doesn’t do price-promotions. Just everyday low prices across the entire range. Combating the allure of discounts meant educating shoppers on how they can save more by shopping for lower prices on the many, rather than bigger discounts on the few.

AUSTRALIA’S ‘LOW PRICE BIAS’ THREATENS ALDI’S VALUE EQUATION.

ALDI wanted to be upfront about the savings to be found shopping there first, without reinforcing a bias that equates low prices with low quality. Whilst the ALDI brand is synonymous with low prices, this is expected to come with compromise.

By respecting, not dismissing, our shoppers’ reality, we elevated the relationship between shopper and supermarket beyond the transactional, telling a story of value that went beyond price.

For years, ALDI battled their limited range stigma and tried to convince Aussies that you can do a full grocery shop at ALDI. When the truth is, you can’t. You can do most of your shopping at ALDI, and it is worth it for the savings, but you’ll probably need to go elsewhere for a few specific products afterwards.

ALDI regulars will tell you, it’s worth the extra trip to start your weekly shopping at ALDI for the savings you can make across quality pantry and household staples - then still go elsewhere for specific things afterwards. It doesn’t pay to shop exclusively.

But for our less frequent target audience, grocery shopping was a well-entrenched habit at preferred competitors. So we needed to create sufficient intrigue and permission for people to bend their routines and try ALDI first to see what the fuss (and savings!) was all about.

Qualitative research we conducted for ALDI confirmed our shoppers loved us, but were seeing other supermarkets on the side; “I buy what I can from ALDI then head to Woolies for the stuff I couldn’t get, like Roasted Sesame Mayo”.

In fact, 56% of Aussie shoppers visit two or more stores to cover all their grocery needs. It was time we acknowledged this fact and used it to our advantage. Our strategic approach was to reframe the role ALDI played in shoppers’ supermarket repertoires, from one-stop-shop to first-stop-shop.

STRATEGY

GET Less Frequent Shoppers

WHO Shop around for grocery discounts and promotions but don’t believe you can do a satisfactory “big shop” at ALDI

TO Start their weekly shop at ALDI

BY Proving ALDI has almost everything you need, which is why it’s worth starting your weekly grocery shop where the biggest savings are to be found.

Shop ALDI first

With a healthy dose of honesty and self-awareness around ALDI’s range shortcomings we helped Aussies understand that ALDI knows it’s not the only supermarket you see, it just wants to be your first.

‘Shop at ALDI first’ takes a page out of popular romantic films like The Notebook to dramatise that ALDI loves their shoppers enough to let them go, knowing the savings are good enough to keep them coming back.

Our idea not only accepts but encourages supermarket polygamy. It normalises the behaviour of shopping around, changing it from a point of awkwardness to one of financial savviness.

‘Shop ALDI first’ campaign launched across TV, BVOD, OLV, OOH, print, radio, digital and social around Australia. We wanted all Aussies to understand that at ALDI, we know we’re not your one and only. But, if you want to save money, you should definitely shop at ALDI first.

The campaign surpassed expectations - see confidential section for detailed results:

INCREASE FIRST-CHOICE POSITION FOR MAIN-SHOP

With a 25% increase, ALDI successfully increased first-choice consideration for main shop, forging a new place in shopper repertoires.

GROW SPEND-PER-BUYER

Whilst competitors only saw shopper spend increase in-line with inflation, ALDI’s grew by more than double this year-on-year, with every shopper spending significantly more with ALDI each month.

ATTRACT SWITCHED SPEND & GROW SHARE

The campaign helped attract a staggering level of switched spend, with market share building to a new high. As the only major supermarket to increase penetration, frequency and units-per-trip across the campaign period, upending perceptions was working hard to shift shopper behaviour.

And our approach resonated…

“I like where you acknowledge your competitors but focus on your strengths.”

“Hilariously true”

“You can get a lot of things, but not your whole shop, so it's good to acknowledge that!”

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: As a discount supermarket, we know that inflationary times are in our favour, but rather than sit back and hope for short term gains, we seized the opportunity to shift behaviour for the long-term, and ensure shoppers were coming to ALDI through choice, not necessity.

PRICE INCREASES: No retailer was immune to price increases, however, objectives were set at levels that ensure performance was beyond levels of inflation. Share growth demonstrates we grew at the expense of competitors.

SPENDING MORE: ALDI remained outspent by major competitors across the campaign period.

OTHER CAMPAIGNS: ALDI are always-on, like most big retailers. The Shop ALDI First campaign had clear objectives that tie specifically into the behaviour change we were aiming to achieve.

NEW STORES: ALDI open a few stores each year, but hold the smallest store footprint of their competitive set. Share growth far exceeded gains from new store openings.