Woolworths launches new trolley disinfectant station for customers

A new device at Woolies has left customers stunned after solving a pet peeve all customers have when using trolleys in just two seconds.

When doing your grocery shop it can be hard not to think of all the times your supermarket trolley has been used.

And while all Australian supermarkets have stepped up their cleaning game since the coronavirus pandemic began last year, a new device at Woolies has got clean freak customers excited.

Woolworths is trialling a trolley disinfector machine at its Oran Park store in Sydney, installing the device there earlier this month.

In a now-viral TikTok video shared by @sezzarellaruby, Sarah showed the trolley cleaner in action, describing it as “like a car wash, only free”.

To use it all Sarah had to do was push the trolley inside the machine and then press a button to let the sanitising spray do its thing.

The video, which has since been viewed more than 1.2 million times, also attracted hundreds of comments from shoppers who wished they had the cleaner at their supermarket.

“I love this! Those trolleys are never cleaned, sit outside and then we put food in them? I was hoping we would get this one day,” one person commented.

“How cool! We need one of these at our Woolies!” another said.

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All you have to do is place your trolley inside the machine. Picture: TikTok/@sezzarekkaruby.

And then press a button to operate. Picture: TikTok/@sezzarekkaruby.

But others pointed out the trolley shouldn’t be seen as an alternative to other hygiene and social distancing measures.

“I like the idea but everyone is touching the same button to turn it on,” one person said.

A Woolworths spokeswoman told news.com.au the trolley disinfectant unit was part of the supermarket’s COVIDsafe program.

“As a food retailer, we already have very high standards of cleaning and hygiene in our supermarkets including the thorough cleaning of high touchpoint areas including shopping trolleys,” she said.

As part of our COVIDsafe program we are trialling a bespoke customer trolley disinfectant unit at our Oran Park store, which enables customers to push a trolley into a dedicated standalone unit where it is sprayed with disinfectant.

By completing the cleaning process in under two seconds, the initiative is proving very popular with customers looking for a fast and efficient way to clean their trolleys.”

While the trolley cleaner was only a trial so far Woolworths said it would “closely monitor customer feedback over the coming weeks”.

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Video of the device has been viewed more than 1.2 million times. Picture: TikTok/@sezzarekkaruby.

Trolley change at Woolworths, Coles self-serve check-outs

It’s not the only change being made to supermarket trolleys, with Coles and Woolworths revealing last week they were altering self-serve check-outs to accommodate smaller trolleys.

Coles is rolling out the change at supermarkets nationally, with hundreds of its supermarkets that have the “park your trolley here” sticker at check-outs already sporting the new format.

“Coles is making it easier for customers to use trolleys in our self-checkout area by lowering the basket shelf so our smaller trolleys can fit right over the top,” a spokeswoman for the supermarket told news.com.au.

One TikTok user showed the altered self-serve check-outs in use last week. Picture: TikTok/@seven4eight748.

“This saves space and means customers can quickly scan products from their trolley and place them directly into their bags.”

Meanwhile Woolworths confirmed to news.com.au the supermarket giant was currently trialling the lowering of the basket shelf so trolleys could fit at 200 stores nationally.

“We know some customers prefer half-size trolleys over baskets for their shop, so in selected stores we are running a trial that allows the half-size trolleys to slide over the silver tray, freeing up more space in the checkout area,” a Woolies spokeswoman told news.com.au.

“We‘re always looking for ways to make the in-store customer experience more convenient, and will review this initiative before implementing it more widely.”