BELLMAWR, N.J. — Aldi plans to open 180 new stores across the United States this year, according to the company, continuing an expansion that brought in 17 million new U.S. customers and nearly 200 new store openings last year. The growth comes as consumers shift toward budget grocers and warehouse clubs in response to higher grocery prices.

More than 90% of the products at Aldi are store brands, according to the company. Sales of store-brand items increased nearly three times faster than sales of national name-brand products last year, according to the Private Label Manufacturers Association.

Consumer Reports found that prices at Aldi and Lidl were more than 8% lower than at Walmart. The same analysis found prices at BJ's Wholesale Club were 21% lower than at Walmart and prices at Costco were 21.4% lower, with WinCo and H-E-B also pricing below Walmart.

Budget grocery stores tend to be smaller than the typical 40,000-square-foot supermarket, carry fewer items, have smaller staffs and operate with greater efficiency. At Aldi, employees save time by tearing off the tops of shipping boxes and placing them directly on store shelves instead of unpacking boxes of canned goods. Discount stores do not feature the service departments and signage commonly found in supermarkets like Wegmans. Discount grocers have also invested in improving their food and beverage offerings.

Warehouse clubs such as Costco and Sam's Club offer groceries at modest prices using their large buying power. Costco reported net sales of $28.41 billion for the March retail month, an 11.3% increase from the same period last year. Sam's Club said it hopes to more than double its profits over the next eight to ten years. Grocery Outlet announced it would close 36 stores.

Rachel Negro-Henderson, a healthcare administrator who lives in Audubon, N.J., with her husband and three children, began shopping regularly at Aldi during the COVID-19 pandemic after her husband lost his income as a crew coach. She now regularly sees acquaintances at the store. "Everyone's like, 'Yeah, I'm saving money. I might as well come here. I'm getting the same product,'" Negro-Henderson said.

Food companies have used shrinkflation as a cost-cutting scheme, and some retailers have begun using electronic shelf labels that allow prices to change based on demand. "This is food. You don't screw around with our food," grocery industry analyst Phil Lempert said.