Aldi thinks self-service checkouts are a complete waste of time in supermarkets. And that's a big point of difference, given big rival Coles has them in 750 of its 780 outlets, and Woolworths rolled them out in 70 per cent of its 976 supermarkets.

The German discount chain says that while it is trialling smaller, fully staffed express lanes at a store in Manly, north of Sydney, its model of having extra-long conveyor belts where customers unload their trolleys in one go to be scanned by a checkout operator, and then pack their items themselves at the other end, won't be changed.

Aldi wants to make its checkout queues faster, but backs speedy operators over self-service checkouts. Credit:Bloomberg

"Aldi's checkouts operate with industry-leading efficiency," an Aldi spokesman said on Wednesday.

"We have no plans to implement self-service checkouts at any of our stores."