For the last two years, Aldi has been the fastest grocery store in the United States.
In 2025, the retailer opened 105 new locations, according to real estate company JLL’s Grocery Report 2025.
While the grocery chain is privately held, and therefore doesn’t release annual earnings, it did reveal that those 105 new locations brought in upwards of 17 million new customers.
“One in three U.S. households shopped at ALDI this past year,” Aldi CEO Atty McGrath said in a statement. “And in 2026 we’re focused on making it even easier for customers to shop our aisles first.”
In March, Aldi finally unveiled one of the ways it plans to make those aisles easier to shop — a brand new website and mobile app.
Aldi unveils a new mobile app
At the end of March, Aldi announced that it had partnered with Instacart to fully redesign its mobile app and website.
The new ecommerce platforms will provide a more seamless customer experience, better ways for shoppers to find and curate their favorite items, and meal-planning solutions by way of shoppable recipes.
The app and website will also be powered by Instacart’s Storefront Pro platform and fulfillment services.
“Shoppers define value in more ways than one — often by saving both time and money,” Aldi U.S. COO Dave Rinaldo said in a statement.
“As customers look for more flexibility, our partnership with Instacart enhances the Aldi online experience, giving the 1-in-3 U.S. households that shop our aisles another convenient way to get their groceries when and how they want,” he continued.
Aldi and Instacart’s partnership began in 2017. Today, Aldi customers can receive their grocery orders in as little as one hour thanks to the digital marketplace.
Image source: Shutterstock
Aldi’s budget-friendly focus
Shopping at Aldi isn’t just convenient, it’s also incredibly budget friendly. The chain consistently ranks as one of the most affordable grocery stores in the country, and, by its own estimates, saves U.S. shoppers a collective $8.3 billion a year.
“Our stores are, quite literally, designed to save you money,” Aldi CEO Jason Hart said in the company’s 2025 Leadership Report. “By operating smaller locations, placing an emphasis on private labels and maintaining our famous quarter cart system, we offer award-winning quality at lower prices than the competition every day, even during economically challenging times.
“We know Aldi can save shoppers up to 36% on an average household’s shopping list,” Hart continued. “For a family of four, that’s nearly $4,000 a year.”
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Some 49% of Americans find it “somewhat difficult” to afford food right now, a March report from Lending Tree found.
In order to offset rising grocery costs, 90% of Americans surveyed said that they have changed how they shop for groceries, with paying closer attention to grocery prices and choosing store brands over national brands among the most preferred tactics.
For the cost-conscious, Aldi is the perfect solution. More than three-quarters of Aldi shoppers agree that Aldi’s private label brands are just as good as national brands, the Leadership Report says.
Additionally, 88% of shoppers say that buying groceries at Aldi helps them stay within (tight) budgets.
Aldi is expanding in 2026
These data points make Aldi’s planned expansion even more exciting.
The grocery retailer says it plans to add 180 new stores in 2026, including expansion into Maine and Colorado, two states it currently has no presence in. The store openings are a part of Aldi’s larger plan to have 3,200 U.S. locations by 2030.
In order to support these new locations, Aldi will also be opening three new distribution centers, and expanding an existing center.
“The next wave of ALDI growth is powered by its customers,” the store’s announcement said. “The loyalty built in the first 50 years in the U.S. has helped transform ALDI into more than just a grocery store and instead into a movement. Customers line up hours before grand openings, fans proudly wear head-to-toe ALDI gear, and loyal shoppers share product recommendations in dedicated Facebook groups, some with more than 3.8 million members.”
New Aldi locations
There are currently plans for 180 new Aldi stores in 2026. While not all locations have been announced, shoppers can expect to see stores in:
- Portland, Maine
- Denver, Colorado
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- The Southeast: 80 existing Southeastern Grocery stores will be converted into Aldi locations
Source: Aldi
Related: Walmart launches genius new way for customers to shop
