Trader Joe’s and Aldi have increased their hold on grocery shoppers in the U.S., with both retailers showing a drop last year in the proportion of customers who went to a competitor right before or after visiting one of their locations, according to data published Tuesday by retail data analytics firm Placer.ai.
The trend suggests that a growing number of people view Trader Joe’s and Aldi as primary destinations for grocery shopping even though the retailers carry a smaller selection of products than traditional supermarkets, Placer.ai said. In addition, the changes could mean that people are becoming more partial to the small-format chains as they continue to look to stretch their grocery budgets, the research firm noted.
Just 5% of Trader Joe’s shoppers went to one of the chain’s locations immediately after visiting another grocer’s store in 2024, a figure that was down by half a percentage point from 2023. Aldi saw a larger decrease, with the share of shoppers who visited one of its stores just after shopping for groceries elsewhere dropping from about 6% in 2023 to 5% last year, Placer.ai said. Aldi also recorded a larger percentage decline than Trader Joe’s in terms of the share of its shoppers who went to another retailer immediately following a visit.
In addition, Trader Joe’s and Aldi both generated sustained year-over-year increases in foot traffic at their stores last year and into 2025, according to Placer.ai. Visits to Trader Joe’s were up by about 6% year over year in 2024 compared with the previous year, while Aldi saw visits surge more than 18%. Both chains also saw year-over-year increases in the number of visits each location recorded in 2024, although at a slower rate than overall visits, the data shows.
Both chains also saw foot traffic rise in the early weeks of 2025. For example, Trader Joe’s brought in 6% more visitors during the week of Feb. 18, while Aldi saw growth by that measure of more than 9%.
Placer.ai also observed that both grocers attract a greater share of weekend shoppers than other retailers, on average, a trend the company said indicates that both grocers are resonating with shoppers as “weekend stock-up destinations” despite carrying a more limited assortment.
Aldi and Trader Joe’s are both expanding their store fleets rapidly. Aldi said in February that it intends to open 225 new locations in the U.S. this year — the fastest pace of store growth the German retailer has ever projected for its stateside operations. Trader Joe’s, meanwhile, had about 12 new locations in its pipeline as of January.
