BELLMAWR, N.J. — When healthcare administrator Rachel Negro-Henderson began shopping at Aldi regularly during the pandemic — a move her family made after her husband lost income as a crew coach — she sometimes felt embarrassed to run into acquaintances there. People she knew would avoid talking about why they were at the discount store, as if it were a mistake. A few years later, that awkwardness has largely faded. Now she sees familiar faces at Aldi all the time, and conversations are more likely to include an upbeat line: “I’m saving money. I might as well come here. I’m getting the same product.”
A mix of forces has pushed more Americans toward budget grocers and warehouse clubs. Food insecurity spiked during the pandemic, grocery prices have climbed, and shoppers have become more sensitive to inflation, tariffs and corporate tactics like shrinkflation and dynamic pricing enabled by electronic shelf labels. Those pressures have made finding affordable meals a top priority for many households.
“Consumers are just to a point where [they’re saying], ‘Give us a break,'” says grocery industry analyst Phil Lempert. “This is food. You don’t screw around with our food.”
That impatience has helped boost discount chains and clubs. On social media, creators routinely highlight finds at Aldi, Lidl, Costco and the like — showing meals made entirely from store-brand ingredients or sharing low-cost recipe ideas. Retailers have responded by improving product quality and expanding selections, shaking off past perceptions that budget equals poor quality.
How discounters keep costs down
Budget chains operate differently from full-service supermarkets. They tend to run smaller stores with fewer SKUs, leaner staffing and streamlined operations. Employees often stock items straight from shipping boxes to shelves to save time. The result is lower overhead and lower shelf prices, but fewer bells and whistles: you won’t find elaborate service counters or fancy signage the way you might at a big regional supermarket.
European discount chains Aldi and Lidl have rapidly expanded in the U.S. Aldi reported adding millions of new customers and hundreds of new stores recently, and plans further growth. Warehouse clubs such as Costco and Sam’s Club use massive buying power and membership models to offer low per-unit prices — think viral examples like Costco’s $4.99 rotisserie chicken or its long-discussed hot-dog-and-soda deal.
Price comparisons back up some of the buzz. Consumer Reports compared a basket of goods across many retailers using Walmart as a baseline and found Aldi and Lidl more than 8% cheaper than Walmart. Wholesale clubs like BJ’s and Costco recorded even larger discounts versus Walmart in that comparison.
Store brands and changing priorities
Shoppers have also warmed to private-label products. Sales of store brands have been growing faster than national brands, driven in part by improved quality and better marketing. At Aldi, for instance, more than 90% of items are store brands, and many customers say they’ve swapped national brands for in-house alternatives without noticing a drop in quality.
Still, discount shopping has trade-offs. Smaller stores may not carry every specialty item. Negro-Henderson and her husband, Rich, both fans of Aldi, admit they still make trips to other shops when they need deli meats, specialty items or a particular cut of meat. For them, the extra stop is worth the savings.
“You’re sacrificing name brands for the most part, but the quality is still great,” Rich says. “You’re not really sacrificing anything.”
Frugal cooking and the role of social media
Lower-cost shopping often leads to lower-cost cooking. Social media cooks and influencers post recipes that stretch ingredients or recreate classic comfort foods on a budget. Kiki Rough, who shares Depression-era, wartime and recession-era recipes on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, creates dishes such as bean-based meatloaf or eggless French toast casseroles to show people how to feed families when resources are tight.
Rough draws on personal experience with food insecurity and says one of the most important things she offers is a mindset change. Many people feel shame about needing to save money on food — a stigma that discourages seeking out cheaper options. “You need to not be ashamed that we are in a difficult economy,” she says.
Will these habits stick?
Analysts expect many of these behaviors to endure. A December survey from market research firm AlixPartners found most respondents planned to spend the same or more on food in the coming year, but also said they would prioritize cheaper groceries and avoid impulse buying. Lempert notes shoppers are using lists more, comparing prices online and caring less about store frills — trends especially pronounced among Gen Z and millennial buyers.
“We’re never going to go back to shopping the old way,” Lempert says.
For families like the Negro-Hendersons, the move to discount grocers is practical rather than shameful. They appreciate lower prices, the growing quality of store-brand products and the environmental commitments some chains advertise. And for many shoppers across the country, embracing budget stores and smarter shopping habits has become a savvy way to protect household budgets without giving up the food they enjoy.