Competitor coupon policies. Sunday-starting ads. Self-checkouts.
What do they all have in common? They’re all once-commonplace features in grocery stores that aren’t quite so common anymore. Three grocery chains have become the latest to break with recent tradition, and quit offering one of the features named above.
First, there’s Maryland-based Giant Food, which recently eliminated its competitor coupon policy. Once a popular perk, along with benefits like double coupons, accepting coupons issued by other stores is becoming the next grocery feature to fall out of favor. Giant now joins other regional chains like Price Chopper and Giant Eagle that quit taking competitor coupons some time ago.
“This change aligns with our efforts to lower prices and our focus on delivering value through our promotions, personalized offers and Flexible Rewards available in store and online,” Giant explained, on an in-store sign shared by a reader. Giant did not respond to a request for comment about what prompted the change, how widespread competitor coupon use was, or how no longer accepting them will help lead to lower prices across the board.
But with more coupons going digital, and fewer of them printed on paper, coupons have become less portable in recent years. Many who shop at stores that do still accept competitor coupons find that there are few, if any, competitor coupons to use anymore. So competitor coupon policies may simply have outlived their usefulness.
So, too, it seems, have weekly grocery ads that start on Sundays. Michigan-based Meijer has become the latest chain to move the start date of its circulars to Wednesdays, from its longstanding practice of starting them on Sundays.
Wednesday-starting ads used to be the norm, decades ago, as circulars featuring sale items for the week were delivered in the daily paper, to coincide with the traditional midweek Food section. But over time, the Sunday paper became a higher-profile place to feature grocery ads. Now, that trend is reversing, as more grocery retailers are starting their sales midweek again. Newspapers no longer drive grocers’ sales schedules to the extent they once did. And with Saturday now typically the busiest grocery shopping day of the week, it doesn’t make much sense to start a new ad the day after everyone has already done their shopping for the week.
Plus, “the change allows our team members to focus more on customer service during our busiest weekend days, and work on the tasks associated with the ad break during the week, when stores are not as busy,” a Meijer spokesperson told the Detroit Free Press.
Finally, there’s the matter of self-checkout. It’s too soon to call it a trend, since some stores still swear by it, but ALDI appears to be joining the ranks of retailers who have soured on the technology. Many ALDI shoppers across the country have reported that self-checkouts have vanished from their local stores, just a few years after they were installed.
“We continually test and refine our in-store technologies and checkout options to better address customer needs and enhance operational efficiency,” an ALDI spokesperson said in a statement. “As part of this process, we have adjusted checkout formats in select locations to ensure we’re offering the best shopping experience possible while delivering exceptional value. Self-checkout will remain available at many ALDI stores and our approach is designed to evolve with customer feedback and new opportunities to innovate.”
ALDI did not elaborate on the “select locations” that are affected. But some shoppers suspect that stores in high-crime areas where self-checkout users are prone to stealing stuff, may be the ones where self-checkouts have been targeted for removal.
Dollar General did the same thing last year, after taking a store-by-store look at the prevalence of both “purposeful” and “inadvertent” theft. Just a few years after installing self-checkouts, it ended up taking them out of most of its stores.
ALDI began expanding its use of self-checkouts a few years ago, in the midst of a massive national expansion. Some retail analysts said the retailer simply couldn’t hire people fast enough to fully staff its new stores. Now, the elimination of self-checkouts could make some stores’ staffing challenges even more noticeable.
“Our new Aldi opened this time last year with two registers open and many self checkout stations,” a Reddit commenter wrote this past week. “I love self checkout so I was in and out of there in record time and my groceries weren’t tossed around like rag dolls.” But “as of last week, all self checkout stations are gone and they have only one register open,” making for long lines and unhappy former self-checkout users. “If I wanted grocery store chaos I would go to literally any other grocery store on the planet,” another commenter wrote. “And so now I do.”
Others are pleased about the changes, though. “That’s great news – I would much prefer properly staffed cashiers,” one commenter wrote. “I hate Aldi’s self checkout,” another wrote. “I’ve been frustrated enough to want to walk out on them many times. I’d be happy to see them go.”
Few grocery shoppers are likely to get upset about the day their stores’ weekly ads start. They’ll adjust. Few are likely to boycott a store over its competitor coupon policy. Most probably won’t even notice. But when it comes to an issue guaranteed to get a rise out of shoppers, one way or another, there’s nothing like the endless debate over self-checkout. ALDI may be the latest to weigh in with its decision. But it’s unlikely to be the last.
