Aldi Courts Private-Label Shoppers With 180-Store Expansion

Discount grocery chain Aldi plans to open 180-plus American stores before the year’s end.

The company announced the latest phase of its ongoing U.S. expansion Monday (Jan. 12), saying it will debut its first store in Colorado, open three new distribution centers, and undertake an overhaul of its digital business. The new store openings will give Aldi nearly 2,800 U.S. stores by the close of 2026.

“One in three U.S. households shopped at Aldi this past year, and in 2026 we’re focused on making it even easier for customers to shop our aisles first,” Atty McGrath, CEO of Aldi U.S., said in a news release. “That means bringing Aldi to even more neighborhoods, upgrading our website and planning additional distribution centers to keep our shelves stocked with the products our shoppers love.”

The company said its new website, launching in the early part of this year, includes things like “tailored product recommendations for easy re-ordering,” added nutritional information, “shoppable recipes” and meal-planning tools.

“The new website will offer more personalized product recommendations to ensure curbside customers find all their essentials as well as the ability to shop for new and trending products every week,” the release added.

A report on the expansion by CNBC noted that Aldi’s growth exemplifies the increasing competition traditional grocery players face from discounters.

“Consumers now really are not looking for fancy stores, and tens of thousands of different items to choose from,” McGrath told the network. “They’re really savvy shoppers. They know that private labels can save them money without sacrificing quality.”

She added, “people, more and more, are really safeguarding their resources, whether that’s the wallet or their time.”

PYMNTS has for years chronicled the rise of private label grocery products. In an interview here last year, Shekar Raman, CEO and co-founder of Birdzi, said the increasing popularity of private-label brands can be attributed to several factors.

“Major retailers have aggressively expanded their private-label assortments,” Raman said. “Beyond the budget-friendly items shoppers expect, retailers have tapped into premium, organic and specialty segments. At the same time, economic pressures and inflation have pushed shoppers to find creative ways to cut costs, making private-label products an increasingly attractive choice.”

More recent research from PYMNTS Intelligence shows that 90% of consumers report feeling financial stress, with the cost of food the most frequently cited source of stress.