Aldi No Subscription High Quality at Lower Prices

So, do you think that food retailer’s subscription services are a platform for today’s success? Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson thinks that they were back in the day, but the undercurrents of change may be pointing in a different direction.

Bernstein downgraded Costco last week stating “These days, every company wants an annual subscription fee to boost margins, but this trend is causing a membership exhaustion.”

Aldi is the fastest growing larger food retailer in the US and will have close to 2,000 by years end according to Johnson.  Aldi has no subscription instead they reinforce low price points and discovery within their stores according to Johnson. 

As grocery industry legendary researcher Bill Bishop recently pointed out; “Aldi recently added the ‘Aldi Savers’ symbol to its weekly ad and instore as well. So, why would a discounter that already offer very low prices decide to add to it otherwise straightforward merchandising tactics?

Simple, Bishop suspected that Aldi’s analyst has looked at the numbers and saw that they could use those symbols to boost sales.  Now, these symbols at Aldi are positive brand edifying messaging that save consumers money while they are venturing to discover. Now that’s a great brand invitation according to Johnson.

On the other hand, Costco’s subscription service has turned from being an ‘in-club’ membership to an aggressive point of sales tactic within the store to drive-up revenues according to Johnson. Amazon, has similar aggressive sales tactics for its subscription service. However, Amazon offers incremental services the ilk of free movies, free delivery all the while expanding its brand invitation.  

The question is; do consumers want more services for more money? Great value for less or simply pay more for the same old thing? Is there a ‘tipping’ point? Did the team at Bernstein get it right, is membership exhaustion driving customer choice?

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how www.FoodserviceSolutions.us can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.