Why Aldi's Aisles Are Filled With Shipping Boxes

Regular Aldi shoppers don't bat an eye at the unconventional ways the Europe-based grocery chain functions. They know to bring a quarter in order to retrieve a shopping cart (don't worry, they get it back when they leave); they know to bring their own bags and they understand that no one is going to put their groceries in those bags except themselves. And when they reach for the items on their shopping lists, they think nothing of the fact that those items are sitting in the very shipping boxes they arrived in.

Of course, the fronts and tops of those boxes have been removed so shoppers can see what's inside. In other stores, those items would be neatly placed on the shelves; at Aldi, they're not. This is just one of the many ways Aldi cuts costs in order to save its customers money. The company doesn't hire a team of associates specifically to stock the shelves. Instead, each store runs on a skeleton crew whose members do everything: stock, cashier, and clean up. For the team to keep stocking speedy, they simply remove a portion of the product boxes and place them on the shelves.

As an avid Aldi shopper, I typically have a stash of reusable bags in the back of my car at all times. But, there have been a few instances when I don't (of course, it's always been during these times that I find myself needing to pick up a few groceries). However, I don't sweat it because I know I can simply scoop up an empty shipping box for free and stack my items in it. You can find empty boxes either on the store shelves or in a large metal bin on wheels that the store associates collect them in. Choose one to fit your groceries, and you've got a makeshift "bag," kind of like the ones you can get at Costco. 

To be sure, Aldi does sell reusable bags and paper bags at checkout if you need them. You may even see plastic bags as well, but in an effort to go even greener, the company eliminated them completely from over 2,300 stores by the end of 2023. But it's not all about boxes, business, and sustainability at Aldi. The company's Aldi Finds aisle (nicknamed the "aisle of shame") has developed a cult following of sorts that keeps shopping interesting and exciting every week. Excellent products are priced so low that you may find yourself filling up several shipping boxes with the loot you discover there.