The Chinese economy continues to decline, leading to a downgrade in consumer spending by the public. During the “May Day” holiday period, the German discount supermarket ALDI, known as the “poor man’s supermarket,” was packed with crowds, attracting attention.
On May 2nd, the topic of “30,000 people emptying the shelves of the most popular poor man’s supermarket on May Day” became a hot search on the mainland Chinese internet.
Since entering Shanghai in 2019, the German discount supermarket ALDI has been offering low-priced items such as 3.9 yuan (RMB) sanitary pads, 8.9 yuan milk, and 9.9 yuan white wine, carving its own path under high price levels. With over 60 stores spread across various regions, it has become popular among Shanghai’s working class.
On April 19th this year, ALDI opened two new stores simultaneously in Wuxi and Suzhou. The Suzhou store saw crowd control measures on its opening day, with several product categories experiencing stockouts in the afternoon. Even after being open for over half a month, there are still large crowds at the store. During the “May Day” holiday, consumers lined up to purchase, leading to many shelves being emptied.
An article by blogger “Ordinary Vision” on May 3rd described a scene at the ALDI supermarket in Wuxi’s Yuanrong Square during the May Day holiday: at 7:30 am, the store, originally scheduled to open at 8:00 am, was flooded with people earlier than expected. The 9.9 yuan Swiss roll shelf was cleared in 37 minutes, and 500g of Australian grain-fed beef tendon was sold at a rate of 23 packs per minute at 34.9 yuan each. This “consumer riot” involving 30,000 people not only left the shelves in ruins but also revealed the deep wrinkles in the consumer ecology of Chinese society.
In the Suzhou Fangzhou Neighborhood Center store, 29-year-old auditor Xiao Chen’s shopping cart contained 3.9 yuan sanitary pads, 7.9 yuan 950ml fresh milk, and 9.9 yuan value facial cleanser. These items totaled only 21.7 yuan, embodying the survival wisdom of Shanghai’s white-collar workers. When a grande latte at Starbucks in Lujiazui increased to 42 yuan, she chose to cover her commute breakfast and personal care needs with ALDI’s “poor man’s package.”
On the opening day of the Wuxi store, 500g of imported bananas were sold at 3.99 yuan per kilogram, totaling 12,000 kilograms, equivalent to the total sales of traditional supermarkets over three days. The author believes that these phenomena reflect the anxiety of the middle class.
On May 2nd, an article by the Chinese WeChat public account “Jin Cuo Dao” pointed out that ALDI, with its own brand and strong supply chain advantages, has the confidence to be a “poor man’s paradise.”
As the Chinese economy continues to decline and numerous businesses close down, the unemployment rate remains high, and the life pressures on ordinary people are increasing. Many are tightening their belts, leading to operational difficulties for many supermarkets. In March this year, Yonghui Supermarket in Guiyang, Guizhou, closed a large number of stores, with eight stores shutting down in just one month.