Aldi shoppers rush to buy $7 dupe of $90 Williams Sonoma holiday item flying off the shelves

Aldi shoppers are rushing to the popular grocery store to purchase the $7 dupe of a popular $90 Williams Sonoma holiday item. 

The budget-friendly store has launched its very own Christmas tree-shaped serving dish - the Crofton Holiday Platter - for just $6.99, which is nearly identical to the 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Figural Tree Platter Williams Sonoma sells for $89.95.

Aldi's version has a hand painted green Christmas tree, fit with ornaments and a star on top, in the middle of a white tree-shaped plate. 

Meanwhile, the luxury home store's popular plate is also white, but has thin gold trim along the edges, a Christmas tree full of ornaments, snowflakes and birds, as well as gold designs in the background. 

The grocery store's version only comes in one size - 15.25 inches - the exact same dimensions as its competitor. 

Along with the holiday-themed plate, the store is also selling matching round and rectangular dishes. 

The entire set is dishwasher and microwave safe, and are so affordable that an entire family can have their holiday meal served on them without breaking the bank. 

Williams Sonoma also has matching plates to go along with its intricate platter, but a full 16-piece set cost $288.95. 

Each year, the supermarket giant asks shoppers to vote for the items they want to see return to its Aldi Finds section, known by fans as the 'aisle of shame'.

The aisle that runs down the middle of stores has gained its colloquial name and reputation because shoppers tend to spot great deals and lose all self-control by indulging in some impulse purchases.

In the beginning of October, the supermarket giant brought back a fan-favorite item after selling out in just two weeks. 

For 2024, the most votes in the Fan Favorites survey went to the festive Huntington Home Swedish Dish Cloth.

There are four versions, including a colorfully decorated Christmas tree topped with a red star on a cream background.

'The Huntington Home Swedish Dish Cloth is a perfect instance of how shoppers can influence what they find on Aldi shelves,' Chantel Hailer, the retailer's director of buying, said.

'Not only will a special holiday edition of the dish cloth return to Aldi this fall, but another iteration will be coming in 2025 because of the customer demand.'

The dishcloth will be available to purchase from November.

It comes in four special holiday prints, including Santa's Sleigh, All is Calm, All is Bright, Let It Snow, and Christmas Tree.'

Aldi is the fastest-growing supermarket in the US and is still expanding at breakneck speeds.

Some 2,400 of its small stores, packed with a limited assortment of well-curated but mostly private label goods, are now dotted across the country, and it plans to open another 800 in the next four years.

Earlier this summer the retailer was named the fastest-growing grocer in the US for the fifth year in a row by real estate firm JLL, and in terms of store count it's the third largest.

'No one else is putting up 100 stores a year in the grocery space,' Michael Infranco, assistant vice president at RetailStat said at the time.

'That's impressive. And they've been doing that for a number of years now.'

Although the retailer has been in the US since 1976, only recently did it begin scooping up a larger share of the market.

Driving its popularity has been inflation, which forced consumers to seek out substitutes for increasingly expensive branded goods like Heinz Ketchup, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and soft drinks like Coca-Cola.

Aldi instead offers much cheaper imitation products or 'dupes' - which have been selling for many years in Europe.

Aldi also sells staples like eggs, milk, sugar, flour and pasta, for low prices.

Aldi stores are smaller than those of most grocery chains, averaging around 10,000 square feet.

They also only stock around 12,000 different products, which are put out in their delivery boxes to reduce the need for staff.