Western New Yorkers either love or hate Aldi for the unfussy grocery shopping experience they have there. 

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Aldi stores pare things down to the basics to keep costs low for its customers. Things like:

  • Storing items unpacked in boxes throughout the store (some aren’t even on shelves)
  • Requiring customers to bring their own bags and boxes to schlep their groceries home 
  • Having customers bag their goods themselves
  • Using the “quarter” system to keep customers in charge of maintaining carts, so they don’t need to hire employees to put them back where they belong
Aldi sign
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That being said, some shoppers don’t like how bare-bones the chain is, especially if they’re looking for something specific and can’t find it in the store.

Also, it’s not the fastest option if you don’t have a lot of time and are looking to make a quick trip in and out (although admittingly, Aldi’s cashiers seem to scan things much faster than other stores).

That being said, for many Western New York shoppers, the sacrifices are worth it to save money on weekly groceries for themselves and their families.

For those who need to just pick up a few items after work but don’t want to jump through too many hoops, Aldi is adding a convenient option that will make shopping there less of a hassle.

Aldi’s Adding Self-Checkout Option To Western New York Stores

Local Aldi shoppers will soon have the option to use a self-checkout lane rather than wait in the cashier’s line.

Aaron Sumida, division vice president of Aldi, announced that sixteen local Aldi locations across Erie and Niagara county will have self-checkout available in its stores later this year. 

The change has already been implemented in the Rochester area, and now the option is coming to Aldi’s Buffalo-area stores.

The Western New York locations that are getting self-checkout are:

  • 4030 Maple Road, Amherst
  • 587 E Main St. Suite 200, Batavia
  • 1820 Sheridan Drive, Buffalo
  • 9290 Transit Road, East Amherst
  • 4931 Transit Road, Depew
  • 5999 South Park Ave., Hamburg
  • 3939 Niagara Falls Blvd., North Tonawanda
  • 1980 Ridge Road, West Seneca
  • 4259 Transit Road, Williamsville

What Does This Mean For Aldi’s Employees?

The question remains how this will affect the current employees at Aldi. 

79% of Aldi employees say that it’s a great place to work, bringing a decent wage and benefits to its employees.

They already have fewer employees than the average grocery chain in order to keep costs down (like the lack of need for “cart wranglers” because customers do that themselves). We hope that the new self-checkout lanes won’t mean cutbacks now that there’s less demand for cashiers. 

One Request For Aldi Shoppers In Western New York

We have one small (ok, HUGE) request for those who use the new self-checkout option in our local stores…

If you’ve got a cart overflowing with groceries, please - for the love of shopping - go through the regular checkout line!

The self-checkout line at Aldi (and every other store in the world that offers it) should be for the shoppers who only have a few things to buy and need to finish their shopping trip as quickly as possible. 

Thank you in advance! 

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