Coles trials new app and coinless shopping trolleys

The supermarket giant is considering changing the way shoppers can grab a trolley with a trial at one of its stores.

Grabbing a shopping trolley at the supermarket may soon require you to download an app and enter your credit card details.

New chinless shopping trolley locks are being trialled at one Coles supermarket in Victoria to help keep track of missing trolleys.

A Coles spokeswoman said the technology meant customers would no longer need a coin to unlock a trolley, instead using a QR code linked to an app.

“Customers simply download the Coles sMart Shop app, purchase a $2 digital coin and scan a QR code to unlock a trolley,” the spokeswoman told news.com.au.

“Once the trolley is returned and locked, the $2 deposit will be returned to the customer’s account, ready for the next time they shop.”

The spokeswoman said customers who didn’t wish to use them could speak to a team member to arrange a trolley to complete their shopping.

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Coles is trialling unlocking trolleys with a phone app.

Coles' Middle Camberwell store. Picture: Google Street View.

“It’s hoped the technology will help minimise abandoned shopping trolleys in the community,” she said.

The app system is being trialled at the store in Middle Camberwell in Melbourne’s inner east.

The Covid pandemic has seen many Australians embrace contactless payments and turn away from using cash.

A Coles spokesperson told news.com.au recently that abandoned trolleys were a “nuisance to local communities”.

“[We] are actively working to make this better across the nation, including regular collections of abandoned trolleys with vehicles on the road daily and installing wheel lock systems where suitable,” the spokesperson explained.