Lidl has welcomed shoppers to its new store in Marlow since it opened but some have been disappointed about the lack of the supermarket’s famous middle aisle.

The phenomenon known as the middle aisle is the section of where shoppers can take a break from their weekly shop of life’s essentials and ponder whether they need a new screwdriver set or some affordable gym wear.

Lidl opened the store on Liston Road on November 10 but shoppers quickly realised that the store didn’t have the popular section.

Sarah Clark Norwood wrote on Facebook: “Is anyone else slightly disappointed that Lidl doesn’t have a random-stuff-in-the-middle aisle?”

Many locals responded agreeing with Sarah with some saying they were “devastated” and “disappointed” whilst some added the middle aisle is the only reason they would visit the store.

The idea was originally pioneered by Aldi, which created its ‘Specialbuys’ section by bulk buying items which are then stocked across its thousands of stores worldwide. 

Lidl, which opened its first store in 1973, was inspired by the concept and created its own section, today dubbed the ‘Middle of Lidl’.

A Lidl spokesperson revealed that the Marlow store is “smaller” that the standard format and therefore there isn’t enough room for the middle aisle.

They said: “Our Marlow store is smaller than our standard format store and is an example of where our teams try to be flexible with site specifications, where there is a strong demand for access to a Lidl. As such, the store offers a tailored selection of Lidl products. 

“Most importantly however, customers will benefit from our high quality, affordable produce, helping them to keep the cost of their shopping down. 

“Recently, Lidl was named cheapest supermarket in The Grocer’s ‘Super Grocer 33’ for the third time in a row. 

“Comparing the price of 33 everyday grocery items across the UK’s seven major supermarkets, the analysis found that Lidl was over £10 cheaper than Tesco, over £15 cheaper than Morrisons and a whopping £27.88 cheaper than Waitrose. 

“Should shoppers wish to access any of our Middle of Lidl products they can try their next nearest Lidl store which they find via our store locater tool at www.lidl.co.uk.”