All the security measures Coles and Woolworths introduced in 2024

In a year where rising prices put a strain on Aussie shoppers, these supermarket strategies risked tipping them over the edge.

Many Australians have lashed out at supermarkets over enhanced measures to stop shoplifting, while rising prices push shoppers to breaking point.

Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths increased their security measures in 2024, which left customers feeling frustrated as cost of living pressures mounted.

The security measures

Coles trialled security tags on meat products in 10 stores in Victoria. The move has been described as “depressing” by one social media user.

“They treat everyone like a potential criminal. I hate how they make me feel,” another said.

The supermarket was also branded “dystopian” for a number of overhead cameras installed at one store.

A shopper said: “I get that cameras are necessary but why so many? I mean they could achieve the same thing with so fewer. Is it just to deter theft? Kind of creepy.”

Coles and Woolworths have enhanced security measures at their stores. Picture: news.com.au

Shoppers have had a lot to say about the new measures. Picture: news.com.au

Both Coles and Woolworths increased the number of “smart gates” at their stores in 2024. Smart gates are at the exit of the self-serve area, and close and lock when someone is suspected of shoplifting.

Meanwhile, Woolworths stores in New Zealand saw staff wear body cameras. It’s intended to de-escalate conflict and abuse from customers.

The supermarket also came under fire for training staff to look for customers engaging in “suspicious activity”. It’s not a specific training tool, but staff have been encouraged to look out for potential issues within the business.

Meanwhile, Costco introduced a new entry requirement in a bid to crack down on membership sharing. Costco unveiled digital face scanners at the door, a hi-tech move away from the previous process of members simply showing a staff member their card upon entry.

Customer feedback

Customers haven’t been quiet about how they felt about the new security measures. Many claimed they were made to feel like a thief, while others expressed their concerns over the increased use of AI.

“I don’t explicitly feel like a presumed thief. But doing the groceries used to be a chore I didn’t mind doing. These days it has become actively unpleasant. Customers seem to be the lowest priority for the major supermarkets, with the possible exception of the staff,” one social media user said.

Another said, referring to the smart gates: “The fact that the Perspex gate sometimes malfunctions and just doesn’t open despite the absence of thievery, means it should be scrapped. It’s very demeaning.”

Ten Coles stores in Victoria are trialling tags on meat. Picture: Reddit

“Yes, I have purchased nappies and gone through self checkout. An employee came over and asked me to scan the packet of nappies first. Before I even got a chance to respond, she grabbed them and scanned them herself. Not that it’s a big deal, but give me a chance? Nappies are probably being stolen and this is why she asked, but also. cost of living is that high that people are stealing nappies. It made me feel like a criminal,” another revealed.

Is theft actually a problem?

A Finder survey of 1096 people found that seven per cent of Australians had stolen from supermarket self serve check-outs in the last 12 months.

Graham Cooke, head of consumer research at Finder, said of the results: “Many households are struggling and are having to make difficult, and in some cases, criminal choices to cope.

“Backed-up by Finder’s cost of living pressure gauge, this illustrates the serious impacts of the cost of living crisis and the financial strain people are under.

“The youngest Aussies are seemingly the most affected.”

Are these measures needed?

Scott Taylor, founder and CEO of Praesidium Risk and Resilience, told news.com.au he thought the enhanced security measures were necessary — but only to an extent.

Mr Taylor’s role includes teaching businesses how to deal with repeat offenders. This means he can see behind the curtain when it comes to how businesses handle their security measures.

He said while businesses shared information about privacy data with facial recognition software, the whole message about the reasons behind security weren’t always clear.

“I think what a lot of the retailers don’t do is manage the communication well around it,” he said.

“We don’t share the whole message.”

Customers aren't happy about security measures in supermarkets. Picture: Reddit

He said security is put in place to reduce theft and repeat violence and aggression staff see daily. Mr Taylor said items such as meat and vitamins — smaller, higher priced items — are key targets for shoplifting. That’s why security boxes and tags were being trialled on these items.

Mr Taylor said cost of living has contributed to a rise in shoplifting, including a rise in first-time offenders.

But is it impacting the customer experience? Mr Taylor said if people were after cheaper prices, they shouldn’t have an issue. He also pointed out most people working in these spaces were in their first job.

Smart gates are at both Coles and Woolworths. Picture: news.com.au

Woolworths NZ has staff wearing body cameras. Picture: Woolworths

With three quarters of staff having faced regular abuse in the last 12 months, Mr Taylor said the supermarkets’ measures could help keep them safe.

He believed when this is explained to customers, most are fine with the increased security. But if they failed to communicate it properly, that could lead to resentment, Mr Taylor said.

He also pointed out frontline workers needed to be given additional training with the new measures, whether they be automatic stop trolleys, smart gates or cameras.

“We’re only covering one side of what we need to cover. Retailers need to be more rounded,” he said.

Mr Taylor said he didn’t think there was bad intent behind security measures, but emphasised retailers needed to communicate with customers more effectively.

The supermarkets weigh in

Coles said while most customers did right thing, a small number did not.

“Coles has a range of security measures in place to reduce theft from our stores including CCTV, electronic article surveillance (EAS), and smart gate technology that automatically opens as customers make payment for their products,” a spokesperson told news.com.au.

“Additionally, trolley lock technology has been in place at a number of our stores in recent years and this technology uses sensors to prevent trolleys leaving the store if someone hasn’t first paid at a register.”

A Woolworths spokesperson said very much the same thing.

“The majority of our customers do the right thing but we have a number of initiatives that we use, both covert and overt, to help reduce retail crime and abuse,” the spokesperson said.

“Our priority is the safety and wellbeing of our team and customers, and all our team are trained and have a number of tools available to keep them safe in the event of conflict or anti-social behaviour.”

Originally published as All the security measures Coles and Woolworths introduced in 2024