Shoppers divided as Aldi sells shopping baskets in Special Buys sale

Shoppers are divided after Aldi announced it was selling an item found free-of-charge at other supermarkets for $10. But should it supply them?

It’s an item you’ll find at every supermarket entrance except for Aldi stores.

But despite not offering shoppers a basket to do their shopping with, the store will sell them one.

Among the items for sale in the German supermaket’s Special Buys on Wednesday, September 9, is a “collapsible basket with handles”.

Aldi is known for its unique shopping experience which includes groceries remaining in boxes on shelves and no packing services at the checkout, details the store have said in the past ensure “low prices”.

The blue item, a “Shopbox by Optibox”, costs $10 and can fold down flat when not in use.

While it’s definitely a handy item to do your shopping with, especially in the coronavirus era where we’re trying to avoid touching surfaces others have, some people have said it’s a little ironic the store is selling baskets when it only offers full-sized trolleys to customers.

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Shoppers are divided as Aldi reveals it’s selling shopping baskets in a Special Buys sale, but won’t supply them like other supermarkets do. Picture: Aldi

“Selling?????? WTF, seriously they should be free like other supermarkets,” one annoyed shopper wrote on Facebook.

“If you aren’t going to give baskets generally then supply smaller trolleys as an option – they are too big to navigate,” another said.

Another said: “How about they just supply them like normal stores.”

While one raged: “What’s the point? This is just stupid.”

However some saw the positives, pointing out it could help with the common scrambling scenario many experience at the checkouts.

“Just throw the basket in the car rather than spending time packing a bag,” one suggested on Facebook.

“It’s a good COVID-safe alternative,” another added.

Other shoppers cheekily suggested people simply “borrow” a basket from another supermarket chain and save themselves the cash.

Shoppers have long been divided over Aldi’s budget prices verses the “stressful” checkout experience.

If you don’t want to use a large trolley, you have to collect items in a shopping bag, which can get stressful at the checkout. Picture: Supplied

An Aldi Australia spokesperson told news.com.au it’s customers were “no strangers to bringing their own bag or grabbing a cardboard box off the shelf” and were “excited to offer customers a new reusable way to carry their groceries”.

Back in February one woman shared her solution to the speedy packing issue and news.com.au verified it was true.

“You can actually request they slow down and they have to do it,” she wrote on Facebook in a post that attracted hundreds of comments.

An Aldi spokeswoman confirmed shoppers can ask for cashiers to slow down if they’re going too fast, adding it was “never our intention to cause customers stress at the checkout”.

Do you think Aldi should offer baskets at the front of its stores? Let us know in the comments below.