When I’m out shopping I always make it my mission to avoid paying full price whenever possible. I take great pleasure in sharing my best tips, tricks and strategies with you, as well as with the members of Chloe’s Deal Club. By doing this, we can all club together to save as much money as we possibly can.
There are a variety of ways to save money at Lidl and thanks to their Lidl Plus app it’s better than ever to shop in store and save money at Lidl now – assuming you’re fortunate enough to have one near you anyway! With almost 1000 stores now Lidl are slowly creeping across the United Kingdom.
I’ve pulled together all of the very best methods to save money at Lidl to help you make the most of your grocery budget, shop smart and make sure that every single pound is working as hard as possible for you.
Knowing how to save money on groceries will vary from store to store and being able to save money at Lidl is one of the trickier ways to bag yourself a deal. However, as Lidl is frequently one of the lowest priced supermarkets you’re already going to be getting a great deal when you shop there.
Before I begin with my actual tips I want to talk about loyalty schemes, apps and benefits, such as those in the Lidl Plus app. I don’t really agree with customers having to sign up to an app, discount card or other membership, free or otherwise, just to make sure they get the best deals – and I wish that retailers would just allow everyone to access the best deals upfront.
It’s something of a necessity though these days and so I do feel these discount apps and loyalty cards are worth it. You WILL save money at Lidl with the Lidl Plus app though, even if you only use an occasional discount, and that is why I recommend you have one.
How to save money at Lidl
Sign up for Lidl Plus
You don’t earn loyalty or reward points on the Lidl Plus app, like you would do with Tesco Clubcard, Morrisons More or Nectar at Sainsburys, however you do gain access to discounts, special offers and some really great deals.
Lidl Plus is a loyalty app, free to download, available for iOS and Android. You can easily find the app in the Apple App Store if you’re using an iPhone or the Google Play Store if you’re an Android user.
Each calendar month in the Lidl Plus app the value of shopping you purchase will accrue and help you to unlock rewards at specific thresholds. These rewards will vary from month to month, but as an example you can expect to unlock rewards after spending £50, £100, £150 and £250 in a single calendar month. Spending money will also help you save money at Lidl as you unlock these brilliant offers.
The £50 reward is typically a small item, such as a free in-store bakery item. The £100 reward is typically of slightly higher value, such as a multipack of crisps or other snack based item. The £150 reward is of similar value typically. Recently it was a fruit juice, drink or smoothie.
Once you’ve spent £250 in a single calendar month you’ll unlock a 10% coupon plus reward. This is the ultimate reward as you can use it against your next shop and receive a maximum discount of £20.
Each reward is valid for a period of 7 days once you’ve reached the required spending threshold to unlock it. This means that you could meet the £250 spending target during the final days of one calendar month and then you’d be able to use the opportunity at the start of the following calendar month. This is great if you get paid at the end of the month and have the space for a large top up shop as you can maximise the discount you earn.
There are only a handful of items that won’t count towards the qualifying spend to count towards these rewards and they’re just infant formula and gift cards. You can’t redeem coupons for the purchase of alcohol, infant formula or gift cards either. This is a very small amount of excluded items versus other supermarkets, but this may be because Lidl have a more limited product range and don’t sell things like cigarettes.
Activate Lidl Plus For You offers in the Lidl Plus app
Within the Lidl Plus app you’ll have access to Lidl Plus For You which will contain personalised discount vouchers and freebie coupons. Each of these offers will need to be activated individually and two users of the app may not have access to the same offers here.
As you shop with Lidl more and more, and they obtain data on the types of purchases you’re likely to make, and how frequently you make them, the offers will become more tailored to the items you purchase, or similar items. These offers can be designed to incentivise you to try new products, or even just reward you for purchasing items frequently.
On occasion you’ll also notice special discounts that are only valid for the Lidl store you normally use. These will show In your store and the location underneath. Again, these will need to be activated before you can use them.
Quantities may be limited to a maximum of 6 items per customer on selected products. This restriction means that all shoppers have the opportunity to pick themselves up a bargain, which is great when they have so many viral dupe products or great special offers.
Utilise Happy Hour discounts
Every day, from 7pm, you can activate a 30% off in-store bakery items coupon. This can be used from Monday to Saturday and allows you to pick up discounted bakery goods.
Read the terms for coupons carefully
When you unlock a discount or free reward for hitting a minimum spend this may be eligible for multiple items. One example of this is the free in-store baking item. This is valid for almost all items within the bakery. This means you could choose one of the cheapest items, a single roll or pretzel, or you could purchase one of their specialist loaves of bread and maximise how you save money at Lidl.
If you read the terms for an offer you’ll see all available products and from there you can choose the best value item that suits your grocery needs.
Play the super spin promotions
Lidl often run special schemes where you can win digital reward coupons. These require you to shop in store, spending as little as just 1p, and then you can visit the Lidl Plus app and spin the super spin wheel. You’ll then be rewarded with a discount coupon or free product, depending on the promotion that is running.
Recent promotions have included bakery super spins – where every single spin won you a bakery item, and fruit & vegetable super spins – which was the same promotion but you won free fruit or vegetable items.
These promotions can offer an excellent opportunity to receive freebies simply by purchasing items that you would have been buying anyway. Taking advantage of these offers allows you to get a little extra value from your usual grocery shopping without going out of your way. Also, once you earn a reward you’ll have a period of 7 days to activate the voucher in the Lidl Plus app and purchase the item.
The best competition I’ve seen recently was one where 1 in every 10 shoppers were rewarded with a £10 Lidl voucher.
24 days of Christmas coupons
Lidl are offering 24 days of Christmas coupons in their Lidl Plus app. All you have to do each day is open the app for your special offer; these can include money off food, additional coupons and many more offers to save money at Lidl.
Look for money off coupons
Lidl frequently have money off coupons that you can activate within the Lidl Plus app by entering a code. These coupons are often £5 off a £25 or £30 spend, and they’re limited to a set number of redemptions.
In recent months they have offered these coupons to as many as 10,000 lucky people, and I always share these on the Chloe’s Deal Club Instagram as soon as I find one, so make sure you give me a follow so I can help you save money at Lidl.
Earn cashback with Chase
Chase is a cashback debit card that rewards you with 1% cashback on your everyday spending. You use the Chase debit card as you would your own bank debit card and automatically receive 1% cashback. This is a great way to earn a little bit back on your grocery shopping but also on other daily purchases that you would be making regardless.
I’d love to see more opportunities to earn cashback shopping at Lidl – like purchasing gift cards from JamDoughnut or everup, but as yet no joy!
Look out for reductions in-store
Lidl typically makes first reductions early in the day which is great news if you’re an early morning shopper. These reductions may be on the shelf where the products are usually found, so you can look out for the orange or green stickers.
First reductions are typically 30% off, and marked up with orange stickers.
Later in the day, in the early evening, you can expect to see much bigger reductions. Lidl uses green stickers, to help you save money at Lidl, which will make prices 20p, 70p, 90p etc, depending on the time of day items are being reduced, the value of the item and even the quantities of stock that they have left to sell by the end of the day.
I’ve picked up some real bargains before including 1kg of chicken for just 90p and have regularly found items reduced to just 20p 1-2 hours before my local store closes. These items may be located together, near the milk or cheese though this can vary from store to store.
Don’t be afraid to ask the staff where to find reductions in your local store!
Pick up a “Waste Not” fruit & vegetable box
For just £1.50 you might be lucky enough to find a box of fruit and vegetables on sale. These boxes are full of products that are passing their best. They may have a discoloured appearance, a small amount of damage or have deteriorated in quality slightly. Lidl say that the goods within these boxes are ‘perfectly good to eat’ though you’ll find these boxes are quite rare!
I’ve seen these boxes near the till in my local store, but locations may vary. You’ll typically find the items in a brown box or black vegetable tray. Often these boxes have been prepared first thing in the morning so if you’re able to shop before work, or the school run, you’ll have the best chance to bag yourself a bargain.
Check out the Pick of the Week
Every Thursday Lidl have a selection of special offers and limited-time goods for sale. You’ll find fresh fruit & vegetables at a discounted price and there are also theme events. Examples include wine tours, garden events, baby events and more.
You can view leaflets for these upcoming events in-store, on the Lidl Plus app and the Lidl website. You’ll also find the prices listed too which can help when carrying on price comparisons online.
When in store you’ll see the Pick of the Week fruit and vegetables at the end of the aisle, typically near the front of the store. This is really convenient and also a great reminder about these fantastic offers when you’re in store.
You’ll also find Pick of the Week meat and fish offers. Sometimes these are larger packet sizes, referred to as family packs, and I recommend you break the packets down, wrap the items well and then freeze them to use for meals in the coming days or weeks.
If you can plan your meals for the week around the Pick of the Week then this can be a great way to save money at Lidl. They usually have at least 5 fruit and vegetable items that can form the basis of tasty salads, pasta dishes or even just be enjoyed as a snack.
Try out the Lidl perfume dupes
Lidl is well known for producing a range of absolutely stunning perfume dupes. More recent scents have been dupes for the likes of Dior’s J’Adore, Lancôme La Vie Est Belle and Chloe For Her.
Each of these dupes cost just £5.25 and as the branded versions range from £72 right up to £160 you can make some significant savings if you shop with Lidl instead.
The staying power does not always last as long as the branded versions do, but with such a significant price difference you could easily top up several times throughout the day and still be saving 75% – or even more.
The packaging is more basic than the branded products but the scents are very close matches – some of them are near identical.
The Win-Win Recycling bin
From February 2024, Lidl introduced recycling bins in some of their Glasgow stores where shoppers can bring their drink cans or plastic drinks bottles to the machine to be recycled but with an added bonus to help you save money at Lidl.
For every item you recycle you will receive a 5p reward which can either be redeemed against your shopping or you can choose to donate to charity. It might not sound like much, but it can soon add up!
Stay away from the middle aisle
The middle aisle in Lidl is often packed full of absolutely amazing items. You’ll find a variety of categories stocked here, with frequent changes, including camping items, children’s toys, clothes, shoes, plants, car care products, beauty electricals, tools, cleaning products and much more.
Lidl stores are typically designed where the middle aisle is out of the way of the bulk of the groceries which means it IS possible to easily shop from your grocery list and avoid this section.
You’ll usually find these aisles run through the middle of the store, hence the name, and at the beginning and end of the middle aisle are things like pet food and dry goods.
You can see the offers in advance on the Lidl website, in-store via a leaflet or within the Lidl Plus app, which can help you spot if there are any bargains that are a worthwhile purchase for you before you head to your local Lidl.
A lot of this guide on how to save money at Lidl has focused on using the Lidl Plus app. This really is a great option and well worth the few minutes it takes to sign up. Without the Lidl Plus app there are very minimal ways to save money at Lidl.
Lidl offer a range of high-quality products at lower prices than many of the other supermarkets and their main rival price wise is Aldi. You’ll find that you do get more for your money shopping in Lidl compared to one of the big 4 supermarkets and this can make Lidl a great choice if you’re on a tight budget.
Lidl do have less choice in store than other supermarkets may, and don’t have many of the brands you may know and love, but this means that your shop may take you less time, you may make less impulse purchases and you can stretch your grocery budget a little further.
Remember to keep an eye on their weekly offers and activate all relevant coupons and discounts within the Lidl Plus app, to help you save money at Lidl, before you head in store.
I love that the Lidl Plus app works on your mobile and you can even scan the QR code during the checkout process, helping to save a little time. The Lidl Plus app will store your receipt electronically too which is great if you ever have a faulty item and want to return it for a refund or exchange.