According to a Placer.AI survey as reported by Timothy Inklebarger in Supermarket News, Aldi consistently recorded higher traffic than competitors over the first five months of 2024.  Aldi peaked with a 30 percent month-over-month increase in February, declining at a gradual rate to stabilize at 25 percent in May.  In contrast, the closest competitor was Dollar General peaking at 18 percent in March and settling at 14 percent in May.  Traditional supermarkets including H-E-B, Albertsons and Kroger clustered at approximately eleven percent on average in March at their respective peaks for traffic, dropping to negative values in April and recovering to five percent in May. 

Costco was fairly steady ranging from 11 to 12 percent over the period February through May.

Dollar Stores as a group peaked at 17 percent in March reflecting frugal shoppers limiting expenditure during the first quarter. 

Warehouse clubs averaged a ten percent increase in foot traffic similar to major grocery chains and warehouse clubs during May, Dollar Stores were up 13 percent, warehouse clubs ten percent, with traditional pure-play grocers at nine percent.

The Placer.AI survey showed the average duration for a visit to a Dollar Store to be 16 minutes per visit compared to traditional grocers at 23 minutes and warehouse clubs, 35 minutes.  This is consistent with buying patterns and would be inversely proportional to “ticket” value. Shoppers at Dollar Stores purchase only a few essential items per visit compared to warehouse clubs where members purchase in bulk taking advantage of lower per unit cost.