The Aldi Reviewer Coronavirus Resource Roundup

EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated May 2021 with additional information and new developments. 

Coronavirus — more technically known as COVID-19 — has been a major news story for much of early 2020. On March 11th, the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, meaning it is now considered a worldwide problem.

How should American shoppers respond? At times, shoppers seem worried … so worried, in fact, that there have been numerous reports of shoppers raiding stores for certain staple items. (Toilet paper seems to be a common target.) Others have argued that the response is overblown.

Either way, we think it’s useful to talk about what Aldi brings to the table for dealing with infectious diseases, be it coronavirus or anything else. Here, then, is a roundup of some of our posts that might be useful.

• Aldi Updates Its Mask Policy for Vaccinated Customers and Employees. In May of 2021, vaccinated customers and employees are not required to wear masks in Aldi stores, while still requiring masks for unvaccinated people.
• What Will Aldi Finds Look Like After the Pandemic? What do customers want? More swimming pools and gardening equipment? Fewer cleaning supplies?
• Welby Disposable Face Masks. Not as cheap as some other disposable masks Aldi sells, but they’ll do the job.
• My Beauty Spot Disposable Face Masks. Bargain face masks in adult and children’s sizes.
• Crane Face Masks. Washable, reusable face masks in children’s, men’s, and women’s sizes.
• The Real Reason Aldi Finds are So Hard to Find. It’s not just because of superfans. During the pandemic, many people are turning to Aldi’s middle aisle for entertainment.
• Aldi Washable Children’s Face Masks. We put a cute kids’ mask from Aldi to the test.
• How to Support Your Local Aldi Workers During (and After) the Pandemic. Simple tips, including being gracious, patient, and saying thank you.
• Open Thread: Aldi Disposable Face Masks. We take a look at some masks on Aldi shelves.
• The Uncharted Territory of Aldi Pandemic Back-to-School Ads. With so many uncertainties regarding what school will look like for the 2020-21 school year, what changes can we expect in Aldi’s back-to-school offerings?
• Opinion: How Aldi Can Fix the Pandemic Aldi Find Problem. Have you had trouble getting your hands on certain hot Aldi products this year? Here are our thoughts on how to resolve the issue.
• Aldi to Require Face Coverings Starting July 27th. Aldi is joining other retailers such as Walmart and Target in mandating masks for all customers entering stores.
• How Aldi Finds are Changing During the Pandemic. How the pandemic is shaping the product line, affecting supply chains, and more.
• Aldi Quietly Lifts its Pandemic Return Policy. Aldi has dropped its temporary restrictions on returns.
• Aldi During a Pandemic: An Aldi Bloggers Roundtable. We chat with several Aldi bloggers from other sites about their thoughts and experiences.
• Understanding the Aldi Pandemic Product Return Policy. In the interest of safety, Aldi made some changes regarding accepting returns. We attempt to clarify the new temporary policy.
• How to Navigate Aldi with the New In-Store Limitations. We offer tips to make your shopping trip as efficient and safe as possible.
• Is Aldi Cutting Back on its Aldi Finds? We noticed Aldi’s print ad got a little shorter for a few weeks while grocers focused on stocking essentials like milk, eggs, meat, and toilet paper.
• Aldi to Limit Number of People Inside Stores. In early April, Aldi put out a press release announcing new store occupancy limits and what that would entail.
• We’ve Stopped Taking In-Store Photos of Aldi Products. Here’s Why. Taking photos in stores is common on social media platforms, especially Instagram. We explain why we’ve hit the pause button on this practice.
• How Might Aldi and Trader Joe’s Be Affected by the Coronavirus Outbreak? We look at how the stores might be impacted.
• Aldi and Trader Joe’s Respond to the Coronavirus Situation. From the grocers themselves.
• Aldi Changes Tuesday and Thursday Opening Hours for Vulnerable Customers. For senior citizens, pregnant mothers, and those with health conditions.
• 24 Aldi Products That are Good to Have During Emergencies. We’ve got a laundry list of products that are nice to have around.
• Source Hand Soap. Prevention is the best defense against sickness, and hand washing is a proven way to reduce the risk of illness.
• Source Beauty Bar Soap. Aldi also sells bar soap if the gel bottles aren’t available or aren’t what you’re looking for.
• Clean N Fresh Instant Hand Sanitizer. Aldi’s private label Source hand sanitizer has been hard to find, but this showed up on store shelves as an alternative.
• Source Invigorating Gel Advanced Hand Sanitizer. This alcohol-based option is quick and easy to use.
• Household Cleaning Products, Aldi Style. Aldi has a number of cleaning products, including Radiance Disinfecting Wipes, if you have reason to deep clean.
• Aldi Does Toilet Paper. Because this seems to be a high-demand item in a pandemic. We also have information on Trader Joe’s toilet paper here.
• Welby Extra Strength Acetaminophen + Welby Ibuprofen. For fever reduction, Aldi stocks a couple of over-the-counter options.
• We Tested the Aldi Instacart Delivery Service. Keep in mind that if things get serious, there may not be nearly enough Instacart workers to meet demand. That said, Aldi does have a method for home delivery (or store pickup in some areas) for a fee.
• As Coronavirus Spreads, Instacart Introduces “Leave at My Door Delivery”. In case you’re looking to limit close contact.