It's their superpower
Here’s Why Aldi Cashiers Scan Groceries So Fast
Published on May 27, 2025
When you’re a regular Aldi shopper, there are certain things you get used to about the grocery store. For one, you know not to go there without a quarter to retrieve a shopping cart. Aldi barcodes? They come in one size: extra large. And when you get to checkout, well, Aldi cashiers are always seated.
On the topic of those cashiers, why do they scan items so fast? Not that anyone’s complaining, but they’ll ring up your entire order in the blink of an eye. It’s impressive, but it also leads to questions. Like, is there some sort of Speed situation going on where if the conveyor doesn’t move at a steady 5 mph, something terrible will happen?
If you’ve ever wondered why and how your Aldi order moves through checkout so fast, you’ve come to the right place. Read on to get to the bottom of this mystery.
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Why do Aldi’s cashiers scan so fast?
There are actually a few factors at play here, not the least of which is that Aldi keeps prices low by operating with a limited number of employees. That, in turn, means efficiency is key to get shoppers through the store and loading their cars in record time. Here’s a breakdown of the reasons for this speedy situation:
Stores have fewer employees
As mentioned above, it’s a bit of a skeleton-crew situation at Aldi. The whole point is to keep overhead costs low and pass on these savings to the consumer.
“What really sets them apart is the staffing model,” says Gary Gray, co-founder of CouponChief. “They run lean on purpose. Each employee is trained to be efficient and do multiple tasks without slowing down. You don’t see people standing around or doubling up on work. That kind of focus keeps the whole store moving faster than most chains.”
The packaging makes items easier to scan
Those almost comically sized barcodes you’ll see on Aldi products also make for super-quick scanning. “Aldi’s private label products have oversized barcodes or multiple barcodes so cashiers can scan them on the first try,” Gray explains. “No spinning or fumbling. It’s subtle, but it saves seconds per item, and that adds up fast.”
Cashiers don’t bag groceries
At many grocery chains, you’ll see cashiers pulling double duty by scanning items and then bagging them for customers. At Aldi, this doesn’t happen. You’re on your own when it comes to getting everything in bags and back to your car. This means that cashiers can solely focus on scanning items and providing your total. When the scanner’s attention is laser-focused, things just move through faster.
“Aldi’s fast checkout is by design,” Gray says. “They’ve got it down. The layout is tight, the scanners are fast and the cashiers aren’t wasting time bagging groceries. Every part of that is designed to get the line moving, and it works.”
Cashiers are timed by how much they can scan per minute
If you’ve never read Aldi employee Reddit threads, you should. It’s fascinating stuff. And they do confirm that Aldi cashiers are indeed watched pretty closely to make sure their scanning speed is up to snuff. For better or worse, this is “hyper micromanagement,” confirms one Redditor, who adds that “cashiers are timed for time between customers, how long during each individual customer and whether or not you ‘pre dipped’ your card in the pos (point of sale) machine.”
Among Aldi employees, this seems to be a divisive topic. It appears some managers aren’t sticklers for upholding super-fast scanning metrics, while others are. One newer employee shared that their scanning “score” is only in the mid-60s, when it’s supposed to be around 85 to 90, and they doubted whether or not they could ever reach that goal. “I know there are supposed tricks to get around some of these hook-ups (such as hitting 1 code after each transaction), but maybe that tells you something right there—that you have to come up with trick upon trick to even get close to meeting such an unrealistic barometer,” says Redditor PastCar7.
The bottom line: The next time you’re at the Aldi checkout, know that those employees are doing their very best, so give them some grace.
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Sources:
- Gary Gray, consumer savings expert and co-founder of CouponChief; interviewed, May 2025
- Reddit: “PSA: Aldi cashers are times and scored…on everything”
- Reddit: “Question for past and present cashiers at Aldi. Or, customers can comment too. What do you think of the Total Items Scanned/Active Work Time (IPH) Standards for cashiers?”
