Aldi fans left 'disappointed' by Special Buys sale

Aldi fans have been left disappointed by Wednesday's Special Buys sale which featured a $149 23L air fryer oven with pizza function.

Many social media users reported their local stores were unable to keep up with customer demand.

"Disappointed that the store only had 7 air fryers and 50 people wanting it,” one mum wrote online.

Another added: "Our local only got one apparently," while another shopper wrote: "Was three in our store. Useless."

One user said that customers were "abusing others" while trying to get their hands on the fryer.

"Our Aldi only got four air fryers I wasn't lined up for that but people were losing their minds over it and abusing others,” she wrote.

An Aldi Spokesperson told Yahoo Lifestyle: “We forecast the stock levels of all Special Buys products based on several factors including the sales of previous, similar products. The forecasting and ordering of the air fryer occurred well before the impacts of COVID-19 and it is obvious that demand for home cooking appliances has never been stronger.

“As a retailer, we are as disappointed as our customers when we do not match demand. Our buying team are already placing orders to put this product back on sale in the coming months.”

Those who missed out will likely be very happy to hear that Coles is also selling an air fryer this week, at $20 less than Aldi's.

The supermarket has announced they will be selling their 25L all-in-one oven with air fryer for $129 on Friday for their Best Buys promotion.

Coles' air fryer is two litres bigger than the Aldi version and slightly more powerful at 1800 watt versus Aldi's 1700 watt.

Both can cook pizzas, a new feature that makes these models different to others which have baskets to cook in, while these are more of an oven style.

Coles General Manager for Health & Home Jonathan Torr said: "We think customers are in for a real treat this Friday. We’ve worked hard with our suppliers to provide exceptional value on essential kitchen appliances that we’re confident our customers will absolutely love.”

"Our All-In-One Oven with Air Fryer emulates department store models and has a 25 litre capacity so you can cook an even larger pizza.

"It’s 1800W, stainless steel with 10 preset functions and has full digital functionality – and we’re offering it for just $129!"

A YouTube video for Aldi's air fryer reveals it comes with "more accessories than a teenage girl" including a 10 inch pizza stone, a rotisserie fork, air fryer basket, baking tray and wire rack.

It also features a dehydrate function, with the ad boasting, "Not many ovens can make beef jerky."

Shoppers have previously queued for Aldi air fryers, which quickly became fan favourites.

Coles also has a number of other kitchen essentials for sale on Friday including a 250W stick mixer on sale for $19.99, a 6.5L slow cooker for $29.99 and a three-tier food steamer for $39.99.

They've also announced that they are expanding the Best Buys program to an additional 30 stores, taking the total to 80 supermarkets.

Coles' Best Buys takes place fortnightly on Friday in select stores.

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