The lesser-known discount aisles in a major supermarket that rivals Lidl and Aldi

The lesser-known discount aisles in a major supermarket that rivals Lidl and Aldi

If like me, you love an aimless browse through shopping aisles and rummaging through sale racks, you’ll be all too familiar with the famed ‘middle aisle’ in the likes of Aldi and Lidl.

Packed floor to ceiling with random items you never thought you wanted or needed, shoppers can pick up anything from kitchen taps, to bins, coffee machines and crates of fizzy pop at discounted prices.

Admittedly, it’s one of my favourite things about a shopping trip to the supermarket. Aldi is my nearest, and all of the dreaded food shop runs are usually made half an hour longer by trawling up and down the middle of the store and picking up products I never intended on buying.

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Some of my recent pick-ups included an electric ice crusher for summer, scented candles and a huge 1.5 litre bottle of laundry detergent.

The ‘special buys’ aisle, also featured in the likes of rival budget chain Lidl, are particularly popular for their ever-changing mix of products at affordable prices, because they usually offer unexpected or branded items you would only expect in larger supermarket chains.

It’s a bit of a gamble, with stock regularly changed over, so you never really know what you might stumble across. To me, that’s all part of the fun.

But there is another discounted ‘middle aisle’ in a major supermarket that could easily take on the likes of those in Aldi and Lidl, as I discovered during a recent shopping trip earlier this week.

All of us are feeling the pinch more than ever, and are trying to save money where we can. As part of a money conscious series, I recently talked about my love for charity shop hunting, the new bargain outlet in Trafford, and my visit to the affordable store dubbed ‘little Ikea’.

I also wanted to see how I could save on groceries and other household products, so headed to a lesser-known discount store in Salford, found a nifty hack to get shopping for a week for 拢30, and for homewares and furniture, travelled to the huge Dunelm outlet in Rochdale to see what was on offer.

Since 2024, Morrisons has introduced its ‘when it’s gone it’s gone’ offer. I don’t often frequent the supermarket, despite living nearby to one, as I more regularly shop in Aldi or Asda, but I do use my Morrisons More card on every trip.

And after a visit to the Whitefield store earlier this week, and browsing its aisle of equally utterly random offerings, I noticed it was also affordable and drew many parallels with those in other budget supermarkets.

First up were packs of paintbrushes for 70p, and a fill painting set with a canvas for just 拢10. Plush children’s bean bags were 拢45. Next to them were packs of jumbo highlighter pens at 80p, glass LED lights for 拢5, and an array of scented candles priced at an affordable 拢3.50.

Topically, there were multiple holiday and travel items, including luggage belts at 拢3.50, four packing cubs at 拢4, luggage tags for 拢1.50, a 拢6 neck pillow for the plane, travel bottles for 拢1.50 and even a small cabin bag for 拢8.

Around the other side of the aisle, shoppers were enticed with jumbo packs of clothes for a fiver, picnic bowls and cups between 拢1 and 拢2, and an array of beauty items and products like cleansing balms and hair masks from just 拢2.50.

The offer was first introduced in February last year, and was rolled out across the majority of stores. The products are refreshed every Wednesday, and can be conveniently found online before venturing out to the shop. It is worth noting that this doesn’t guarantee them being in stock.

It made the shopping experience equally as random and exciting as a visit to Aldi or Lidl, which are famed for their middle aisle offering. But for me, the lesser-known Morrisons deals were equally on par.

The prices are claimed to significantly undercut the market by up to 50 per cent. The offer is adapted to the size of each individual store, so the extent of the range and the assortment depends on the floor space available.

Where the supermarket giant also entices budget-friendly shoppers is with their 拢1 aisle. It fills the void where there has otherwise been criticisms about the rising costs of items in Poundland, with many items priced much higher.

The Whitefield Morrisons store also boasted a red-coloured line of a wide variety of items, all for just a quid. No more, and no less. It meant that picking up some of the more costly and mundane shopping items, like Tupperware, utensils, kitchen roll, surface wipes and bin liners, could be nabbed for a fraction of their usual price.

During my visit, I spent just 拢4 and picked up a jumbo kitchen roll, car air freshener, surface wipes and furniture and room fragrance sprays. I was confident that usually these would’ve set me back almost double the price.

I was surprised at the wide-ranging offering, stocking quite honestly almost anything you could think of. Plasters, birthday candles, children’s toys, water bottles, candles, batteries, heat packs and reed diffusers all filled the shelves… for a quid.

It may be stuff most would render unnecessary, but for me it was great inspiration for all those little buys I really needed to pick up but never remembered or refused to splurge on. And all for an affordable price.

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