Aussie shoppers keep getting caught out by ALDI’s ‘sneaky’ marketing tactic

“Give this one to the ACCC,” said one commenter on social media.

Grocery shopping can be a nightmare at the best of times, battling fussing kids whilst also trying to figure out how to get what you need for the most affordable price possible - and let’s be real, is that even a thing these days?

Regardless, you wouldn’t be blamed for missing something on a label, and one ALDI shopper in particular has exposed herself for doing just that.

But, is she at fault, or is something fishy going on?

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Image: Facebook.

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“I kept having not enough sausages…”

An ALDI shopper has taken to the ALDI Fans Australia Facebook group after realising she’d been making a simple mistake with her sausages.

“So I kept having not enough sausages BECAUSE I thought it was 12 sausages it's not it's 7,” she said in the post.

“Was I the only one…”

The packaging has the number 12 in large font. Next to the 12, it reads ‘cooking time’, however the shopper said she had mistaken this for where it says ‘thin sausages’ underneath - not taking the time to count that there were only 7 inside.

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“This gets me all the time!”

Plenty of commenters on the post agreed with the woman, saying they’d easily make the same mistake - and maybe even have in the past.

“This gets me all the time lol, and not just for these sausages,” one commenter said.

“Fair enough. It's a tricky one. Who puts cooking time in bold?” said another.

“I would have thought the same 😆” a third said.

Some called the packaging deceitful, saying it was done intentionally to confuse shoppers.

“False advertising,” one commenter said.

“Give this one to the ACCC,” said another.

“To me this is a deliberate act of deceit. It doesn't take 12min to cook those sausages. It's meant to grab your eye, so you assume there's 12 in the pack,” another commenter said.

“It is misleading labeling,” another person said.

However, others said it was just great, albeit a little sneaky, marketing.

“I would have thought there were 12 in there without thinking. Great marketing,” said one commenter.

“Ah, the old should've gone to Specsavers trick,” said another.

“For all, those saying that this is not a marketing ploy, but lack of ‘reading’ from the buyer. Then why didn’t the company write MINS as big as the number 12! MARKETING PLOY,” a third said.

“At first glimpse I thought it was 12. Not an eyesight problem it's how the 12 stands out more than every other word. Sneaky marketing,” said another commenter.

Read before you buy!

Just as many people said the mistake was silly, adding that shoppers should be looking more carefully at what they’re buying.

“Can see what you are saying but it really doesn't look like 12 sausages!” said one commenter.

“Cook in 12 minutes NOT 12 sausages,” another said.

“I thought it would be obvious when buying that’s it’s a single layer,” a third said.

“Open eyes. Read. Simple.” said another.

The Kidspot team weighs in

According to the Kidspot team, it may be parents who are most likely to fall for sneaky packaging like this, unable to take the time to read everything properly with kids in tow.

“I think this is something many parents fall for because we're so busy wanting to get in and out of those supermarkets - especially when we have our kids with us. I have seen that number plenty of times and assumed. I'm not going to sit there and count sausages!” Leah said.

“I have definitely made this mistake before, especially when shopping with small kids and you don't have time time to peruse,” Emily agreed.

“I never check this kind of thing. When my child is attempting to use the trolley seat for his impromptu gymnastics routine I'd rather just be ripped off so I can get out of there quicker,” said Lauren.

Liz agreed that this packaging was likely done intentionally, in hopes that people wouldn’t realise what they’ve purchased until after the transaction is done.

“Most people know how long it takes to cook sausages, it's definitely a ploy to get you to think it's 12 sausages per pack,” she said.

“The way the wording of 12 and thin sausages is placed, is a mistake anyone could make.”

But, for online shoppers like Nama, this would be no match.

“COOK is in bold - and I always look at cook time because I'm not making shit that says '45 mins',” she said.

“I think it's easier to notice these things, too, when you shop online as I do.”

Originally published as Aussie shoppers keep getting caught out by ALDI’s ‘sneaky’ marketing tactic