cash and carry / wholesale grocery shopping/Aligro

Food & Drink, Events and Entertainment
21

I don’t shop that much in Aligro, but I find these prices similar to those of Migros and Coop when they have special offers. So a bit cheaper, but I wouldn’t say they’re going to be cheaper than Aldi/Lidl/Denner.

What I do like about them is not only is their fresh fruit and veg selection quite large, but so is their frozen - much larger than anyone else’s here. I often buy a bag of frozen chopped peppers for use when making jambalaya, wraps, etc. Chopped leaks as well, sweetcorn, etc.

22
I know... that was my argument... but I guess for the in laws they always shop at Migros and their perception is that Coop is more expensive.....

23
The problem with those comparisons is no one buys that exact 'average' basket of goods.

And they don't take into consideration special offers. Coop has far more offers on than Migros, especially if you have their customer card. You always get dozens of coupons in their app and newspapers/leaflets, sometimes more than a hundred at a time.

Migros for me is far more expensive overall on every shop and they only ever have a couple of coupons in the app, mostly on things I don't buy.

24

Oh come on. Of course they would. People will still shop at more expensive places regardless. It’s either their perception that it’s “better” than other stores, they don’t care about how much they spend or it’s their only option if they have no other stores nearby.

25
Last time I checked Aligro, their prices weren't really that attractive when compared to Aldi/Lidl/Denner or even Migros/Coop on sale.

Now I checked their sale offers, and some products are definitely very attractively priced when comparing to other chains or even "cheap Turkish" stores like Barkat (which I enjoy going from time to time, meaning cheap in a positive way)

Thinking of giving them a try and heading there. Do you need to pre-register for their "Gourmet" card, or can this be done in store?

26
I just did it online and then it came in the post a week or so later.... Maybe call and ask if you can do it instore.... I wouldn't go all the way there incase they turn you away....

27
This is always what I think when I read the 'average' basket cost studies.

I buy veg and fruit as much as I can for a local farmer... and we are only 2 people so not the average household.

28
No, that's true. But you would think that a reputable magazine would use a representative basket of goods.

Even countries use a 'basket of goods' to measure CPI and thus inflation, cost of living and so on.

The one for the U.K. gets changed every year and I find it fascinating to discover what gets added and what removed. Envelopes recently got dropped from the U.K. one but peanut butter got added.

I suspect the basket of goods for Switzerland is very different to the one for the U.K.

29
Yes most definitely, I agree with you...

I guess it comes from some statistic of most purchased items or similar. I'd love to know exactly how they choose the items just because thats the kind of thing that fascinates me.

Ive been shopping with my Swiss Father in Law and I think milk and cheese were the only 2 areas where we crossed over. it was actually quite interesting.... also my Swiss husband (who lived in the UK and overseas for 15 years) buys some really strange things when he goes out 'unsupervised'

30
There was an offer for a top CC card for regular folk and since there‘s one near me, we requested it. I‘ve bought a few pieces of beef, and I find their chicken less expensive and preferable to Coop. You can buy smallish quantities of some things - sometimes it‘s less expensive, sometimes not. Sometimes it‘s just different. The cleaning supplies and household stuff are useful. No fresh fish though. But it‘s ok, and a good alternative to some things.

I had a an Aligro card, but I hate driving to Schlieren from Winterthur. It wasn‘t fabulous enough to endure the pain.

31
I just found out on their website yesterday, there is one in Brüttisellen and - even closer - in Frauenfeld now.

32
I‘ve seen the brüttisellen one from the highway. I wondered if it was open to regular folk.

33
Do you absolutely need to be a member to shop at Alligro? And i heard that there is a 100chf minimum spend. Is it true?

34

I think you can shop without being a member, but it’s been a long while since I looked at their terms and conditions.

As a member if you spend a minimum of CHF100 on Fridays and Saturdays iirc then you get the membership discount. If you spend less then you don’t get that discount.

35
Was there not also a thing like that if you shopped without a card that you never could buy for discounted prices but only for full prices? (could be that they changed this.)

36

Well as far as I understand it, if you spend less than CHF100 as a member on Fridays and Saturdays you pay the full price anyway. Not sure what happens if you’re shopping on other days. They show two prices on the items: full and what it would be if you spend enough for the discount. Haven’t been in ours for a couple of years now though.

37
That sounds wild, Medea. Something tells, that rule is not logic.

However, found nothing about minimal shopping amount on website. In the markets Bern, Spreitenbach, Pratteln a card is a must. I conclude from that that in the others it isn't. Seems obvious to me that if you can't prove being a member, you won't get member-discounts.

Ah, and no begging on their premises. . The formulation for that was a tad more polite/complicated but that's what it boils down to. LOL.

38
Is there an alternative to Aligro? I now live in a place that is equidistant to Lausanne and Bern, two cities where Aligro is present. I loved shopping in Aligro while living in Lausanne...