Aldi is the fastest-growing grocer by store count in the country, and its no-frills approach has also made it one of the cheapest.

以商店數量計算，阿爾迪是該國增長最快的雜貨店，其簡約的風格也使其成為最便宜的雜貨店之一。

For the past decade, it's been growing at a rate of about 100 stores per year.

過去十年來它以每年約 100 家店的速度增長。

And when an economic downturn hits, it thrives.

當經濟下滑時，它蓬勃發展。

It's about simplicity, and it's about efficiency, and it's about a consistent experience all the time.

它關乎簡單，關乎效率，關乎始終如一的體驗。

This is "The Economics of Aldi."

這裡是《阿爾迪經濟學》。

So how does the company keep its prices so low?

那麼，該公司是如何保持如此低的價格的呢？

Take its store set up.

就拿它的商店設置來說吧。

You walk in, and the moment you step foot in our store, you can see all four walls.

當您走進我們的商店時，您會看到所有四面牆。

Aldis are typically around 12,000 square feet, about the same as a Trader Joe's, and much smaller than the average supermarket.

Aldis 的面積通常約為 12,000 平方英尺，與 Trader Joe's 大致相同，但比一般超市小得多。

Operating a smaller space saves money when buying the property on the lease and on utilities.

購買租賃房產和水電費時，經營較小的空間可以節省金錢。

The layout at Aldi is as much designed for our operational efficiency as anything.

阿爾迪的佈局在很大程度上是為了我們的營運效率而設計的。

And so being very specific about the amount of footsteps it takes to service our store and a very limited store size allows us to operate a very efficient operation, and that creates a lot of value.

因此，非常具體地了解為我們的商店提供服務所需的腳步量，並且非常有限的商店規模使我們能夠進行非常高效的運營，從而創造了很多價值。

To further its efficiency, Aldi doesn't have extra services like a customer help desk, a fresh bakery, or butcher, and its stocks significantly fewer products.

為了提高效率，阿爾迪沒有額外的服務，例如客戶服務台、新鮮麵包店或肉店，而且其庫存產品也明顯減少。

Supermarkets typically carry around 31,000 products.

超市通常銷售約 31,000 種產品。

Trader Joe's has about 4,000, but Aldi stocks about 1,600.

Trader Joe's 約有 4000 樣，但阿爾迪只有約為 1600 樣。

Often, there are just three to five employees on the sales floor, so having fewer items and leaving them in the boxes they were delivered in means employees spend less time stocking shelves.

通常，銷售樓層只有三到五名員工，因此減少物品並將其留在交付的盒子中意味著員工花在貨架上的時間更少。

These cost-cutting strategies are critical to Aldi's profit margin, and they're why the company is able to offer items that are cheaper than the national average, but they also serve another purpose.

這些成本削減策略對阿爾迪的利潤率至關重要，也是該公司能夠提供比全國平均水平更便宜的商品的原因，但它們還有另一個目的。

They help maintain Aldi's image as a discount store.

它們有助於維護阿爾迪作為折扣店的形象。

Customers make compensatory inferences.

客戶會做出補償性推斷。

Basically, marketing experts say when people see an item's price, they quickly make assumptions about the product.

基本上，營銷專家認為當人們看到一件商品的價格時、他們很快就會對產品做出假設。

If it's cheap, they may assume it's lower quality, which is why Aldi's no frill strategy is so effective.

如果它很便宜，他們可能會認為它的品質較低，這就是為什麼阿爾迪的簡潔策略如此有效。

From the moment customers put quarters in their carts and walk into the store, they can see all the ways Aldi reduces costs.

從顧客將硬幣放入購物車並走進商店的那一刻起，他們就可以看到阿爾迪降低成本的所有方法。

Marketing experts say these tactics all signal to the customer that milk, eggs, and bread are cheaper at Aldi because of its efficiency rather than its quality.

行銷專家表示，這些策略都向顧客發出這樣的訊號：阿爾迪的牛奶、雞蛋和麵包更便宜，因為它們的效率而不是品質。

Though, the results of its cost-cutting strategies aren't always popular with customers.

然而，其成本削減策略的結果並不總是受到客戶的歡迎。

In a survey of roughly 6,500 people, Aldi scored on par with, or slightly lower than many of its peers in categories like store cleanliness and item availability.

在一項針對約 6,500 人的調查中，阿爾迪在商店清潔度和商品可用性等方面的得分與許多同行持平或略低。

But there's another key tactic grocers use to aid their low-cost images, Known Value Items.

但雜貨商也使用另一種關鍵策略來提升其低成本形象，即「已知價值商品」。

These are staple household products whose prices people often remember.

這些是人們經常記住價格的主要家用產品。

As Aldi has expanded across the country, other grocers have reduced their prices in response, particularly on these types of items.

隨著阿爾迪在全國的擴張，其他雜貨店也紛紛降價，尤其是這類物品。

-When Aldi comes in, it prompts other retailers to look at their prices again and kind of, you know, surgically examine how to adjust what they sell and for how much.

-當阿爾迪進來時，它會促使其他零售商再次審視他們的價格，並且像外科手術一樣檢查如何調整他們銷售的產品和價格。

That's because when people see lower prices for staple goods, they infer that the business offers low prices all around.

這是因為，當人們看到主要商品的價格較低時，他們會推斷該企業到處提供低價。

And when it comes to value for dollar, Aldi ranked highest in the customer survey at 96%,

當談到性價比時，阿爾迪在客戶調查中排名最高，達 96%，

but stores can only compete on price so much without hurting their profit margins.

但商店只能在不損害利潤率的情況下進行如此激烈的價格競爭。

So what does Aldi use other than price point to draw on customers?

那麼，除了價格點之外，阿爾迪還用什麼來吸引顧客呢？

It's private label items.

這是自有品牌商品。

90% of Aldi's stock is private label, like its other strategies, this reduces costs for the company.

與其他策略一樣，阿爾迪 90% 的股票都是自有品牌，這降低了公司的成本。

We take all of our buying power and we put it into the seven most popular or common salad dressings that a customer might buy.

我們將所有的購買力投入到顧客可能購買的七種最受歡迎或最常見的沙拉醬中。

That allows us to deal directly with manufacturers and make sure that we get the best cost price.

這使我們能夠直接與製造商打交道，並確保我們獲得最好的成本價格。

Analysts say that, Trader Joe's uses private-label items to differ from competitors by creating items that customers can only find there,

分析師表示，Trader Joe's 使用自有品牌商品來區別於競爭對手，創造出顧客只能在那裡找到的商品，

like its Ube Mochi Pancake Mix, and Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese.

例如宇部麻糬煎餅粉、胡桃南瓜通心粉和起司。

But at Aldi, you'll find private-label items that look quite similar to the most well-known national brands.

但在阿爾迪，您會發現自有品牌商品與最知名的國內品牌非常相似。

Instead of Wheat Thins, Aldi has Thin Wheat.

阿爾迪沒有 Wheat Thin，而是 Thin Wheat。

According to analysts, this is because Aldi wants customers to think they're essentially getting the same product, but at a significant discount.

據分析師稱，這是因為阿爾迪希望顧客認為他們基本上得到的是相同的產品，但折扣很大。

There was a time when the perception was, you know, they're a generic brand and, you know, they're just cheaper, but not as good as the national brands, and those days are over.

曾經有一段時間，人們的看法是，你知道，它們是一個通用品牌，而且你知道，它們只是更便宜，但不如國家品牌那麼好，那些日子已經結束了。

As consumers felt the lasting impacts of inflation sales of store brand products increased.

隨著消費者感受到通貨膨脹的持久影響，商店品牌產品的銷售量增加。

From 2018 to 2022, there was a 34% increase in industry-wide private label sales, totaling more than $57 billion.

從 2018 年到 2022 年，全行業自有品牌銷售額成長了 34%，總額超過 570 億美元。

While some other grocers might have private label offerings, this is the existence of what we do.

雖然其他一些雜貨店可能提供自有品牌產品，但這就是我們所做的事情。

Aldi has thrived during recessions.

阿爾迪在經濟衰退時也能茁壯成長。

The 2008 Financial Crisis sparked its growth and decision to add around 100 new stores per year.

2008 年金融危機引發了其增長，並決定每年增加約 100 家新店。

What was really interesting is we never lost any of those customers,

真正有趣的是我們從未失去過任何一個客戶，

and as the economy improved and we had a really long run of economic improvement, Aldi grew throughout that entire period of time.

隨著經濟好轉我們的經濟確實有了長足的進步，阿爾迪在整個這一時期都在增長。

And now as inflation drains American's wallets, Aldi continues to grow.

通貨膨脹掏空了美國人的錢包的同時，阿爾迪繼續增長。

In the beginning, that was sort of their target audience, people who, you know, wanted bargains, and wanted to buy food for low prices.

一開始，這就是他們的目標受眾，你知道，那些想要便宜貨、想要以低價購買食物的人。

But in recent years, I think they've really expanded that audience to also go after people who want convenient shopping, who want the necessities, and wanna be in and out of stores.

但近年來，我認為他們確實擴大了受眾範圍，吸引了那些想要方便購物、想要必需品、想要進出商店的人。