Aussie shopper's sinister supermarket theory that many think actually has legs

Now, supermarkets have weighed in to expose the truth.

Everyone has had the experience of going into your local supermarket, then wanting to go on your phone to answer a call, Google something, or transfer money onto your card, before frustratingly being met with a never-ending loading symbol.

The internet has come up with a conspiracy theory as to why this happens - and now we know the truth.

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Image: David Clark.

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“This can’t be legal!”

Aussie Lily has taken to TikTok after an odd experience at a local shopping centre.

Lily said that she was visiting Chemist Warehouse, when all of a sudden her phone stopped working.

Now, she thinks she knows the reason why.

“Is it just me that's realising that shops are actually really sneaky? Because I’ve only just found this out, but apparently they’re using internet blockers so that you can’t go on your phones in certain shops to price match products,” she said in her video.

“I went into Chemist Warehouse yesterday, and I was in the shop, and then I didn’t have any internet. [But] then, I would leave the shop, and then I would have internet all of a sudden.”

So, she posed the question to the comments - is this a thing?

“Is this a thing or am I just realising this now?” she asked.

“What the heck, that can’t be legal!”

@lily.on.the.road

Is this true?! Not cool!!!!! What a scam!

♬ original sound - Lil

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So… is it a thing?

Commenters on the post were torn, with many agreeing with Lily’s conclusion.

“This is frustrating when you’re trying to transfer your money…” said one commenter.

“Now when you said that, it made me think. I thought it was just random shops but you’re right. Coles, Kmart, Woolies really do that!!!” said another.

“Drives me crazy!! The worst is when you need to transfer money and have to embarrassingly leave to go outside to do it and then walk the whole way back in to pay for your groceries!” a third agreed.

But, many said there was no merit to the theory.

“No, it’s the concrete structure and the metal roof. Using any kind of jammer like that is highly illegal,” said one commenter.

“That'd be illegal and counter-intuitive (would affect workers etc). Some shops just have bad reception and a lot of them even have free wi-fi you can use,” another agreed.

“They’re not. Def not a thing. I promise, I work in the industry. These spaces are just black holes because of the size,” said another person.

Supermarkets weigh in

We reached out to a few different supermarkets, who were able to confirm if there’s any truth to the theory. And, while Woolworths preferred not to get involved, the result is a resounding no.

Coles has confirmed that they’re very aware that some stores have poor mobile reception - often inside shopping centres - and they are working with telcos and shopping centres on how they can improve this, particularly for the customers who rely on the Coles app when shopping in store (i.e. for their shopping list or even as a way to find a specific products location).

ALDI also confirmed that they do not use internet jammers in their stores.

Regardless of the reason, this needs to be fixed - I can’t look like a fool waiting for my bank app to load anymore!

Originally published as Aussie shopper's sinister supermarket theory that many think actually has legs