Mystery Aldi code on Special Buys baffles shoppers

Aldi shoppers have been left baffled by a mysterious barcode found on ‘Special Buys’ items, after a woman took to social media to find out what it means.

“Has anyone seen these stickers on any of the Aldi creams purchased in-store?” she posted in an Aldi mums Facebook group, alongside several Lacura Caviar skincare items she had purchased from a Sydney store.

She went on to say she was worried she may have “purchased non-genuine products” and wanted to know “if anyone here has seen this before”.

Some people speculated they may have something to do with security, but Aldi soon revealed the reason for the QR codes.

Codes mean nothing in Australia

“The stickers on the Lacura Caviar skin care are QR codes are intended for use by customers outside of Australia," an Aldi spokeswoman told news.com.au.

“They have no relevance to our Australian customers and are not security tags." the spokesperson said, adding that while the products may have been intended for overseas there was no difference in the Lacura Caviar formula between countries.”

QR stands for Quick Response and is a two dimensional barcode is a machine-readable optical label that contains information about the item to which it is attached.

Special Buy haul sparks outrage

Despite the initial confusion, most people seemed more interested in the fact the shopper was able to ocket such a large haul of the popular Special Buys items that caused frenzies in stores across the country.

“OMG how did you get all of them? I wanted the cream so bad but couldn't get any,” one shopper wrote.

“This is just plain greedy. I never purchase unreasonable amounts of anything,” another person commented.

Aldi’s popular cream range sold out in three minutes last time it was on sale.

The discount shopping giant has won legions of fans with the $19 Caviar Illumination Day Cream and Night Cream which went on sale this morning, and is widely considered a high-quality dupe of La Prairie’s $700 luxury beauty cream, and well worth its weight in gold.

One woman’s video showed throngs of people stocking up on the product, jostling for space, back in September.

Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com.