Rich wine drinkers flock to Aldi and Lidl
Middle and upper-class drinkers are now just as likely as the rest of us to be buying their booze at Aldi or Lidl - especially if they drink red wine.
New research shows that 45% of rich ABC1 households have shopped at one of the discount supermarkets in the last three months, the same proportion as for lower-income C2DE families.
And, according to analyst firm the Wilson Drinks Report (WDR), 13% fof people do most of their drinks shopping at Aldi or Lidl, with another 39% saying they shop there some of the time.
Red wine drinkers are most likely to have shopped for food or alcohol at one of the discoiunters - 39% - while lager drinkers are the least likely.
And there are big regional differences, with people in London and the South East much less likely to have shopped at Aldi or Lidl than those in the North East – although this could have a lot to do with store locations.
"In the past, we might have expected a much higher proportion of C2DE shoppers to buy food and alcohol at the big discounters. However, our new research confirms that the upper and middle classes are just as happy to grab a bargain," WDR managing director Tim Wilson tells specialist drinks website Harpers.
"We think that this provides real evidence that any perceived embarrassment of more middle/upper class shoppers being seen shopping at the discounters has now gone."
Both the discounters have been steadily increasing their share of better-off shoppers, opening new stores in middle-class areas and offering luxuries such as pheasant, smoked salmon and organic vegetables. And quality drinks at rock-bottom prices have been key to wooing the middle classes.
Last summer, Lidl launched a range of 48 French wines at low prices, and in November was named as the best-value British supermarket when it comes to wine. Recommendation app Wotwine concluding that nearly two thirds of its bottles represented 'value or extra value', while discount rival Aldi was close behind, with 64%.
More recently, Aldi launched a range of top-end wines and spirits for Christmas, most at massive discounts: a £76 bottle of vintage dessert wine was on sale for just £18.99, for example, and a single malt whisky usually costing up to £90 was available for just £29.90.
And last week it added a new range of luxury food including Aberdeen Angus steak and smoked salmon fillets at prices substantially lower than Waitrose.
Read more on AOL Money:
Aldi sells posh wine and spirits at massive discount for Christmas
Lidl offers UK's best-value wine
Lidl to wow middle classes with upmarket French booze
