Aldi, Trader Joe’s, and Lidl giving traditional grocers a run for their money Article originally posted on HERE on July 22, 2025 Aldi, Trader Joe’s, and Lidl continue to chip away at the market share enjoyed by their larger, more well-established competitors, according to a new report by data analytics firm Placer.ai. Placer.ai reported on its blog that in the first half of 2025, the three grocers have experienced substantial foot traffic growth, with Aldi up 7.1% in year-over-year growth, Trader Joe’s 11.9%, and Lidl 4.9%. That’s compared to the overall grocery market, which reported 1.5% growth in foot traffic for the year. “The three chains share similarities: All offer a limited assortment of groceries and tend to operate at lower price points—however, each one is carving out its own distinct path to growth,” the report noted. Californians flock to Trader Joe’s What a long, strange trip it’s been for Trader Joe’s, which opened its first location in the “Summer of Love” (1967) in Pasadena, Calif. It’s grown to nearly 600 locations across the U.S., about a third of which are still in its home state. Over the last five years, its relative share of visits has also grown by two-and-a-half percentage points to 15.7%. That’s up from 13.2% in the first half of 2019. During that same period in California, Safeway’s relative share of visits dipped by nearly half a percentage point to 24.7%; Vons declined 1.5 percentage points to 14.9%; and Ralphs dipped nearly a full percentage point to 17.6%. Stater Bros. Markets increased its relative share of visits by a full percentage point to 15.3%, and Smart & Final dipped by a fraction of a percentage point to 11.9%. “This success underscores the value of investing in product and community—two areas where Trader Joe’s excels,” Placer.ai said. The rise of Aldi It’s not just Aldi’s rapid expansion that’s growing its shopper count asthe German discount grocery chain continues to attract more shoppers per location, according to Placer.ai. “Average visits per location were 1.6% higher than they were in 2024, 17.4% higher than in 2023, and 26.7% higher than in 2022,” the report noted. “This signals that its new stores are being met by sustained and growing shopper interest instead of cannibalizing foot traffic from existing locations.” The study notes the company’s skill in growing its brick-and-mortar footprint, while also growing its customer base. Scrapehero.com, a web crawling service that tracks store counts in the grocery industry, reported that the no-frills grocery chain operates 2,547 locations across the U.S., as of June 24. Lidl—the other German grocer Lidl might be behind in the name-recognition game, relative to its German competitor Aldi—the chain operates 187 U.S. locations, as of June 15, according to Scrapehero.com—but it’s gaining shoppers rapidly amongst suburban, wealthy, and older shoppers. Singles and starters are having second thoughts about Aldi, though. Between 2019 and 2025, Lidl saw the single-and-starters demographic fall more than two percentage points to 8.7% from 10.9%. The so-called suburban-style demographic jumped to 14.5% from 11.8% over the same period. Lidl also increased its share of “power elite” shoppers, according to Placer.ai, during the same period, climbing to 11.2% from 8.4%. “Lidl has been adding new stores in recent months, and while it has certainly leaned into its thriving suburban segment, new locations are also appearing in major cities,” the report noted. “This push beyond its established wealthy, suburban roots suggests Lidl may be looking to broaden its appeal to a more diverse urban consumer base.”