Coles ‘smart gate’ crushes shopper’s hand

A Coles shopper says she was left bleeding after her hand was crushed in one of the supermarket’s controversial smart gates.

A Coles shopper says she was left bleeding after her hand was crushed in one of the supermarket’s controversial smart gates over the weekend.

Posting about her experience on Reddit on Sunday, the woman said she had just paid for milk and juice at Coles Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast when the automatic gate “closed in on me while I was exiting and injured my hand”.

“I am so effing angry because it knocked the coffee I had in my hand, went all other my other shopping and all over the floor, and my hand bled and hurts like hell, I can’t move my left ring finger,” she wrote.

“I didn’t stay to speak with the store manager as I was in a rush to catch the bus in few mins. I’ve put in an online complaint, let’s see if they bother to get back to me. Those things need to be removed!”

A smart gate at Coles World Square. Picture: news.com.au

She said she would be seeing a doctor on Monday and would get an X-ray.

One person replied, “I’ve been injured by one of those things at Coles. They’re a nightmare as a disabled person.”

Another said, “A woman at my local Coles was also injured by an automatic gate – her arm was cut quite badly. I feel like maybe it’s more common than we know.”

News.com.au has contacted the customer for further comment.

Coles is understood to be investigating how the incident occurred.

“We’re concerned to hear about this customer’s experience,” a Coles spokesman told news.com.au.

“We have spoken with the customer this morning to check on their wellbeing, and better understand the situation so that we can ensure we have the right controls in place to avoid incidents like this.”

Customers have reported being caught in the gates. Picture: Supplied

Earlier this year, a customer in a wheelchair said they had been “crushed” by one of the smart gates in a “scary” incident while shopping with their son.

Coles and Woolworths have both installed the controversial antitheft gates in self-service checkout areas to combat skyrocketing shoplifting.

The hi-tech gates ostensibly open to allow paying customers to exit while slamming shut to block suspected thieves.

Supermarkets are battling skyrocketing shoplifting. Picture: Supplied

But many shoppers have expressed displeasure at the gates — one of a suite of hi-tech initiatives including facial recognition and licence plate scanning being rolled out by major retailers — saying they make them feel like “criminals” and often do not work properly.

“Some customers have reported being ‘trapped’ by the gate despite paying for their items, causing significant embarrassment,” RMIT PhD researcher Lauren Kate Kelly wrote in The Conversation.

Earlier this month, one mother recounted her experience being locked in after paying for her groceries while trying to juggle her baby and pram.

“I literally felt like a criminal because these boomgates were shut,” Carissa McHolme said in a TikTok video.

“I’m struggling, I’m scanning everything — no one is offering to help. This is not OK. Whatever new system they have in place, it’s not working Coles. Do better than this. Don’t make your customers feel like thieves.”

Originally published as Coles ‘smart gate’ crushes shopper’s hand