Lidl and Aldi savings adverts

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Luternau

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The current xxxx Family made the switch to xxx and saved €€€€ over 20 weeks seem a bit far fetched.

One family, are promoted as saving €2,700. That's €135 a week. Assuming the comparison is one for one across the shopping trip (5 brand x for 5 own brand/alternative of the same size) that's a lot of saving. Seems far fetched to me. What are they buying that they can save so much by switching? Dom Perignon to brut de brut; Parma ham to prosciutto; chateaubriand to rib roast?

In the UK, Advertising Standards upheld complaints about some of these saying they were misleading. Items where savings were made were advertised at a higher price than they were available on the date of the comparison shop. Therefore, the savings were false.
I wonder if the same is going on here?
 
The savings will never be like for like on an overall shop so it is completely misleading in my opinion. You can get own brand cornflakes for example and saying you can save x amount against Kelloggs, own brand coffee against Nescafe, etc, etc, etc. To some there's no comparison with some of these brands. Then again I do looovvveee the Aldi bars of Peppermint and Turkish delight FOR A LOT LESS THAN WELL KNOWN BRANDS. So I guess some people like the other brands too.
 
I am a bit dubious myself about some of the savings, LIDL have a spreadsheet with an itemised comparison available here, although some of the 'savers' that featured in TV ads are not listed:
[broken link removed]
 
I was only thinking the same thing last week about these ads. Some of the families are saving on average more than my total weekly shop (young family of 4). I had a look at some of the spread sheets available on the website there and while I do think they make an attempt at using like for like products there are some very significant omissions.

They have used Dunnes as a comparison shop. If you shop in Dunnes you get a €10 voucher off for every €50 spent which if used correctly will lower your shopping bill by 20%. You also get clubcard points and other special offers sent out to you by post....Lidl do not offer this. They do not seem to have accounted for the weekly offers available in Dunnes. I would estimate that the Dunnes prices have been inflated by about 30-35% if you take all of this into account.

Yes Lidl will work out cheaper if you shop there for everything but my experience is that the selection is far worse and while their meats are decent quality and have some tastier and better alternatives to some main brands they are lacking in variety. Their fruits and veg have a poor shelf life and go off quickly and a lot of their own brand products do not taste as nice as the big brands (IMO obviously)
 
Usually the supermarket will have till receipts to back up their claims. Nothing to stop you phoning up and asking for them. It’s a bit dubious if they only have partial data on their website. If you think they are misleading the public the let the ASA know. They publish advertisers who try to mislead so I am guessing Aldi/Lidl won’t want that.
 
The issue is more the savings being put out there. To save €135 a week for 20 weeks you must be spending a lot of money each week. €135 a week is a weekly shop for many families, so how much were they spending before the saving? I would estimate it must be in the €300—400 mark, giving a saving of 30 to 40 %. That impressive but is it a true %?
As pointed out by another poster there are discounts in Dunnes for spending €50. That should be applied as its a saving on a shop in that store, on that day. However, they just take the till roll price per item.
Also, was there multibuy offers that were not shown? Buy three get one free etc?
I am a big fan of Aldi and Lidl and shop in both for all my food. I am however, not a fan of those type of ads and feel they are misleading.
 
I don't see how you could make those kind of savings (€135) between LIDL and one of their main competitors.
Especially as noted above Dunnes have the €10 off and Supervalu frequently run these too.

Maybe, if you switched to LIDL from shopping in Marks & Spencer OR corner shop \ Spars.
 
Easel said:
I was only thinking the same thing last week about these ads. Some of the families are saving on average more than my total weekly shop (young family of 4). I had a look at some of the spread sheets available on the website there and while I do think they make an attempt at using like for like products there are some very significant omissions.

They have used Dunnes as a comparison shop. If you shop in Dunnes you get a €10 voucher off for every €50 spent which if used correctly will lower your shopping bill by 20%. You also get clubcard points and other special offers sent out to you by post....Lidl do not offer this. They do not seem to have accounted for the weekly offers available in Dunnes. I would estimate that the Dunnes prices have been inflated by about 30-35% if you take all of this into account.

Yes Lidl will work out cheaper if you shop there for everything but my experience is that the selection is far worse and while their meats are decent quality and have some tastier and better alternatives to some main brands they are lacking in variety. Their fruits and veg have a poor shelf life and go off quickly and a lot of their own brand products do not taste as nice as the big brands (IMO obviously)
Click to expand...

On the other hand (and on a slightly different point) these 20 Euro off/two-for-one ect. offers encourage food waste and overconsumption and generally make people spend more than they otherwise would (which is their purpose). The Aldi/Lidl approach of not linking price to quantity bought is environmentally more sustainable and overall also more economical for their customers.
 
I’ve a great recipe for chilli con carne. It’s a meat eaters feast. I used to make it once a month, a big pot of it. It’d last for three or four days but never got tired of it. Not even by the final day. Top scran.

But one day because in was in a hurry I bought all the ingredients in Lidl (bar the minced steak). Beans, veg, Chorizo, spice, rice, etc., everything else I bought in Lidl.
It just wasn’t the same. It just didn’t taste as good.
And it put me off CCC for six months or more. I didn’t even try to make it with the non-Lidl ingredients.

What I’m trying to say, is, Lidl ingredients aren’t identical to non-Lidl ingredients.
These ads are comparing the prices, but not the product (for the most part).

A can of Tropical Lidl May cost less than a can of Tropical Lilt... buybits a different drink.
 
The CCPC here are not strong at all in terms of enforcement. It’s shameful in my opinion.
 
Drakon said:
I’ve a great recipe for chilli con carne. It’s a meat eaters feast. I used to make it once a month, a big pot of it. It’d last for three or four days but never got tired of it. Not even by the final day. Top scran.

But one day because in was in a hurry I bought all the ingredients in Lidl (bar the minced steak). Beans, veg, Chorizo, spice, rice, etc., everything else I bought in Lidl.
It just wasn’t the same. It just didn’t taste as good.
And it put me off CCC for six months or more. I didn’t even try to make it with the non-Lidl ingredients.

What I’m trying to say, is, Lidl ingredients aren’t identical to non-Lidl ingredients.
These ads are comparing the prices, but not the product (for the most part).

A can of Tropical Lidl May cost less than a can of Tropical Lilt... buybits a different drink.
Click to expand...
I buy spices, rice etc from Asian markets every few months so I can't comment on that area but beans, canned or dried, and fruit and veg are as good or better in Lidl than in Tesco or Dunnes. Meat is better in a good butcher but mince, chicken etc is the same (and all Irish) in Lidl.
I can comfortably shop for 5 for under €100 a week in Lidl.
 
Mince is one thing that I’d never buy anywhere except at a butchers. Sorry, but for me your suggestion that mince in Lidl (or any supermarket) is “the same” makes me disregard anything you say on the topic of food.
 
Drakon said:
Mince is one thing that I’d never buy anywhere except at a butchers. Sorry, but for me your suggestion that mince in Lidl (or any supermarket) is “the same” makes me disregard anything you say on the topic of food.
Click to expand...
I meant that it was the same in all supermarkets. I thought the "Meat is better in a good butcher" bit that came before was a giveaway.
There are many butchers who don't mince their own meat that's why the "Good Butcher" bit is important. I buy Round Steak (from Lidl) and mince my own.
 
A series of Aldi ads claiming shoppers could make big savings compared to the “big four” supermarkets have been banned for misleading consumers.
Aldi ran two TV ads which claimed that a £70 shop at the budget supermarket would cost £98 at the UK’s four biggest chains - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons - and compared a £33.04 Alsi basket with the so-called equivalent at its competitors which it claimed would cost £53.35.
While the ad for Lidl has been banned for misleading customers over the potential savings they could make compared with Tesco.
The press ad, seen in the Belfast Telegraph between January 15 and January 19, stated: "Save £46* versus the same shop in Tesco."
The ad showed two supermarket trolleys filled with different products with text above one stating "Lidl £67", and the other stating "Tesco £113."
Aldi doesn't allow its customer price match or price adjustment as stated in Adi Price Match Policy and they do provide the item to be a sale at the cheapest price.
 
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