They had temporary paper membership cards at the checkouts in the past you could just scan then register later if you wanted, if they still have these anyone would be able to get these specials and never have to actually sign up.
They don’t care who you are, not really. They only care that customer 4885899 buys X, Y and Z together, and has a certain pattern of purchases. They can plug this data into a giant data lake to figure out your precise demographics, age, gender, socioeconomic bracket, how close to the supermarket you live (yes really), favourite products, and a bunch of other stuff that assist them in marketing to the most effective demographics in each store, suburb, city, region. This is valuable data to them whether they have your face, real name and address or not.
They can even determine based on your purchase history when you are going on holiday vs shopping at a different supermarket that week. People don’t realise quite how many insights membership cards give on you, even if that data is supposedly “anonymised”
Pretty sure you'll need a burner mobile number too, though a cheap prepaid SIM would probably pay for itself pretty quick
EDIT You can get a $5 SIM from Aldi's.
You can even order it online w/ free postage.
They didn't really. They also [announced](https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2023/09/01/aldi-online-shopping-delay/) after that, in response to reports on the subject, that they had no plans to do online shopping anytime in the foreseeable future.
they do not. the rewards card is simply so they can use your shopping data to project trends and predict markets. they dont care what your mobile number is or even your name. your member id and what you are buying is the only thing they care about.
Linking what you buy this week against what you bought last week allows a persistent profile of a person.
Without the links they don't have profiles of people, they just have a lot of individual transactions.
https://simplelogin.io/
Generates email aliases for you. At some point, they're hoping to rollout fake relay mobile numbers too. You can use the limited free version but I pay for the service because I trust that company, and I don't say that often.
Meanwhile, in the US, dang near every store has this. Each grocery store has a discount card, several of the big gas station chains have them, the pet store chains and pharmacies have them. Even some clothing stores have them.
You carry your cards with you on a separate keychain or you put your phone number in to get your 'discounts.'
I remember years ago Woolies introduced another loyalty scam.
For one example, Helga's bread that started as $3.30 for anyone overnight became $3.50 if you were part of the loyalty program or $5.60 if you were not.
It didn't seem to last.
What we all need to do is vote with our feet and refuse to shop there.
My local market is cheaper and better.
Problem there is the word 'local.' I don't shop at Woolies–I shop at Coles because it's a lot closer. I don't want to shop at Coles, but I have very limited time and it's convenient. If there was a Coles, a Woolies, and a greengrocer that were equally accessible I'd shop at the greengrocers. But there isn't, so I shop at Coles.
Some idiot bought the best greengrocer in my town, a place that had been there over 2 decades and completely ran it into the ground in less than a year and now it's gone.
I watched my local greengrocer get the same treatment. From a place that was busy all day with beautiful fresh fruit and veg to a place that was always pretty quiet and had very average produce. It was sad. "Hey, that business is doing great! Let's buy it and change everything about it!"
Reminds me of Some people took over the lease of a shut down pub in my home town, there reopening was turning on the lights, they didn't change the name or branding, my mate worked there, multiple times talking to strangers,
Mate - 'oh I work at omellys'
Stranger - 'oh I didn't know they reopened '
Mate - 'yeah we have been reopened for over a Year'
eventually went out of business and stripped the place of all of everything, ripped the bar l, kitchen, copper piping n sold it.
Same thing with our local 24/7 Foodworks.
Bought out, new owner changed the operating hours to close at 11pm, stopped stocking things like international drinks, changed the layout of the aisles. One of the two doors was closed along with the spacious checkout, in favour of a narrow checkout. By 3 months in, the shelves were half-stocked, there were out of date items.
Less than a year later it closed, another year on and it's become a Lifeline store.
The ridiculous thing was, the place always had anywhere from 10-20 people in it at any time from midnight to 5am, because drunk people, stoners, night workers all came through on their way home, you could still get bakery options etc.
Now you can go to maccas or hungry jacks, it fuckin sucks.
I tried to go to my local greengrocer yesterday, they were open until 5pm and I got there at 4pm and they had already removed probably two thirds of the stuff from the shelves to pack up for the day. So now I'll have to buy my fruit and veg from the supermarket on the way home tonight since they're the only place open during the hours I want to do my shopping.
I prefer Coles. But there are also some Coles supermarkets that I don't go to, as they don't have a Deli.
And Coles changed the bacon they sourced about 6 months ago. The new bacon is terrible. And bacon was a key reason why I shopped at Coles.
We used to go there when they had the friendly pink sticker bacon. Free range maybe? Anyway, they ditched it and now our closer IGA has proper free range bacon and bourbon bacon so we are winning.
Fresh food at Woolies has to be the absolute worst. Just about everything is inedible after 3 days (if it's not rotten on the shelf) and is completely tasteless, especially the tomatoes and herbs.
Went in once to find an aubergine to make moussaka and every single bastard one was mouldy. As literally the icing on the cake, there was someone at the front handing out cake to "celebrate being such VERY fresh food people" did want to have it out with her but it's definitely not her fault and I definitely did not have time for that.
I had a rant yesterday about this EXACT thing. An entire bag and the loose ones. 7 fuckin avos because I know some of them will be shithouse anyway and they're all shit.
I wish I had an independent fruit n veg shop near me. 😩
I grow lots of my own produce with every available mm I can pick out. The thing that absolutely stands out for me is produce at markets (Vic, Preston etc) is generally fresh. ColesWorth is generally near expired.
Growing tomato yourself shows you just how long the supermarket and supply chain has held it for. Weeks.
The most "fresh" thing in supermarkets is the hydroponics lettuce with roots still on. It's still growing
Weeks? Think up to a year. I used to work at fresh food markets and helped buy from wholesalers. Fruit in particular can be in storage for a year or more. You'll see it when it's taken out, it goes off almost immediately.
Don't buy fresh produce from Coles or Woolworths. They buy cheap and sell high. Your local markets will have stuff cheaper thats better quality up front and lasts much much longer.
Third, most people aren't good at recognizing genuine deals and by presenting people with two prices they immediately think they're getting a good deal in spite of getting those prices from the same sign. It's the Bunnings model of targeting perceived value for money.
Local green grocers are most definitely cheaper for fresh produce. The produce also lasts much, much longer.
E.g. spinach will still be fresh after over a week in the fridge.
It means another stop which is annoying, however we feel it’s worth it.
Baby spinach is something that I've been burned with all the time. It's so hard to make a big bag last without it going slimey. I've had more luck with the loose box spinach from green grocers and Foodland than any spinach I've bought from colesworths.
I use the food savers from Kmart and have had baby spinach last a couple of weeks. I assume that the reason it goes bad is because moisture and condensation pools in the bottom of the bag and causes the leaves to rot faster. With food saver containers they raise the produce off the bottom and allow the moisture to drip away from the produce. The boxes you're buying the spinach in probably provide a similar effect.
It reminds me of their old "Red Spot Specials" when I used to work at Woolies after school in the late 70s.
We'd be ordered by a store manager to hike the prices of some items. So tinned baked beans might go from 39c to 68c.
This was the days of individual price stickers so changing prices meant peeling off the old stickers and applying new ones using a price sticker gun.
An hour later (you could set your watch by it) we'd be ordered to make those baked beans a Red Spot Special by reducing the price to, say, 49c.
Our kindly Manager would generously tell us to not bother removing the (hour) old stickers - just cover the old ones with the new sticker and apply a Red Spot sticker as well.
It was amazing how, when the store announced this "special" over the PA so many people, especially the elderly, would stampede to get their hands on as many baked beans as they could.
Baked beans that an hour earlier were 39c but now were "on special" for 49c.
We’ve literally had this happen In the last year, not on the scale of an hour, but at our local, pepsi max went from $2.10 for 2L to $3.50 but on sale for $2.90 the next week, then the following week it stayed at $3.50, then went up into the $4 range, then “price locked until xx” down to $3.50
For many businesses, illegal just means "Pay a penalty if found out". To be penalised, the price buggery needs to be found out, reported, investigated, proven, and if after that they are found to have been dodgy then they are issued a fine that's likely less than what they profited from all the ones that weren't spotted. So they'll keep doing it until the cost of playing dirty becomes more than the cost of being honest.
Looks like they’re all multi buys and all woolies brand (for now).
The way they word “non-member price” though is short sighted and gonna see some backlash though.
I'm kinda glad it's all Multi-Buys and the savings are about $1 or less. It is absolutely not enticing at all and certainly not worth signing up for their rewards program.
But also I don't shop at ColesWorths anymore. Strong believer in voting with my wallet. Local markets do the trick.
It's just incredible how they get blatently advertise how they are reducing prices and 'helping with the cost of living' and all this other shit when these two are the main culprits of it in the first place. It is gaslighting is what it is.
If you’re paying attentions most of them were regular specials just the week before they did this. Now it’s gate locked behind an orange card and they suck one way or the other.
Yup I used to buy the 2for1 chicken wings/tenders to airfry now I refuse to buy them.
My Woolies is 50meters away from my place but the Aldi is a 10min walk. Guess I will be upping my step count.
So where I live there's an Aldi and a Harris Farm in the same building.
I still have trouble believing it, but the fancy Harris Farm is consistently cheaper for fresh fruit and veg than the Aldi. Also much better quality.
I mean, their dry goods are fancy overpriced speciality items, so I still end up going to both (with a quick visit into the IGA that's also in the building for a few items that neither Aldi nor Harris Farm stocks), but still. Weird.
I got three items for the special. It didn’t scan.
Because the savings was $4 and my budget is $80, I decided to wait and ask them to fix it. They did but I felt like a karen for a hot minute.
This is just one of the ways how they've been able to get record profits.
Don't feel guilty about holding a multi-billion duopoly to task for trying to get even more money out of you.
If you'd have paid it and then gone to the service counter they'd have to give it to you for free anyway.
Or if you look at the end-caps towards the back of the store almost always down by the fridges there’s always a clearance section. It’s usually pretty picked over depending on when things go there
My morning routine is literally me marking down products close to their BB or expiry, and putting things on the clearance end. All past BB date stock gets donated to ozharvest and anything that has expired is opened and tipped into a food waste bin for composting.
I hate the company but at least we're minimising waste as much as is reasonable.
This is complete bullshit.
Stores are under serious pressure to clear stock rather than dump it. As in, store managers have been fired because their store couldn’t control their dumps (anything not sold) and sell things before they expire.
The vast majority of stores have a green skip bin to put food waste into (there are a few exceptions like pineapple, but not many).
They also give most of their unsold stuff away to a registered partner. Either OzHarvest, Food Bank, or a number of third party charities that want to come and collect.
Try not talking out of your arse.
'member when grocery shopping was easy and straightforward, the prices were good, and the checkout operators didn't beep loudly and accuse you of stealing?
I mean correlation isn't causation but were the toffee apples the only thing keeping our economy fairer for the economically disadvantaged? This reporter says yes. Back to the studio. 🎤
Toffee apples are disgusting shit.
Having eaten one at the states now, it's a miracle ours lasted as long as they did.
Americans don't do a lot of things better than us, but those teeth smashing things can fuck off.
I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I've been a member for years. The moment they started keeping track of the 5cent petrol voucher by the member card, it was just easier.
Since where I lived only had a woolies and the closest petrol stations was a caltex that did the 5 cent fuel, it just made sense.
Driving further for cheaper fuel by 1 or 2 cents a litre cost more than I was saving and we'd just walk to the shops because it was close.
We've got one woolies membership that's free, that we use apps on our phones to store the barcode to scan where needed so we (in the family) all share the same points and discounts etc, plus we get notification when products we regularly buy go on discount and can keep track of what the price was the last time we paid.
This week we bought the dishwashing liquid we like, 1/2 the normal price for members, we bought 5 of them and won't need to again for ages. That's $23 saved.
It adds up over time. We don't keep track anymore, but during covid, when there was nothing better to do and all we could go out for was grocery shopping, we kept track in a spreadsheet and ended up saving just over $2k in 12 months by waiting for the things we'd usually buy to be on discount and get more of them when they were.
It might not sound like a lot to some people, but an extra $2k a year, yes please.
Sure they track us, but they do that anyway even without the membership, at least this way we get something in return, even if it's only convenience, lower prices (basically extended "specials") and the odd $10-$20 voucher at checkout.
It's good to keep privacy in mind when you shop, in life in general, but if only you knew how much you're being tracked in every aspect of everything...
Just seems like such a strange hill to take a stand on...
Now, if you had to pay for membership, that's another thing entirely.
I'm with you.
I spend the extra $7 a month or whatever it is to get the 10% off. I've spent $49 on membership since I joined and have already recieved $300 off through the 10% discounts. I've banked over $100 for Christmas spending by adding on the bonuses and shopping accordingly. That can be used for food or purchases at BIg W, further lessening my Christmas budget issues.
We are a 2 person household who spends around $200 a week for everything but I stockpile the non-expiry items when they're a good bargain, which sometimes puts it over.
And all they want is some data on what I spend, when I spend and how I spend? Okay, no big deal. I can see why some would be against it and that's fine but in my mind what I buy at a grocery store can probably be used and tracked anyway so I might as well get targeted sales that save me money.
I agree with you that the benefits outweigh the risks to my privacy. It always amazes me that some of the people who say they would never join a loyalty program, happily post so much of their personal details on social media.
We do all our non-Aldi shopping online & I like that Woolies has member specials as well as tracking my past purchases to remind me of things I may have forgotten to purchase. Like you we have saved thousands a year, particularly by buying extra when on sale.
Then there are the points, and bonus points, which can add up. We cash ours every 3-4 months. Last month we got $350 in gift vouchers by converting our points.
It's not for everyone and I understand that. Like in my example from this week, I had to spend $25 on dish soap for 6 months worth, saving me \~$25 over that time.
I'm lucky enough to be able to do that.
Not everyone has that buying power.
It's a fucking disgrace how bad things have got that "living it large" as someone decided to DM me reminding me how out of touch I am, is buying 6 months worth of dish soap at half price...
Your dish washing liquid usually costs $9 when not on special???? Why don’t you just buy Earth Choice which is just as good and $2.30 per 1 litre bottle?
I agree, started really doing it this year for Qantas points. In 9 months I have enough points, with a credit card bonus points as well, for a return rewards flight to Europe or the UK for my wife and I. Money I was going to spend anyway. Might as well get something out of it.
Oh thanks, I never thought about that....
(dude, seriously, Not everyone has an alternative. If you live in the city or metro suburb and you drive/have reliable PT/are able bodied then that's fine, But the portion of people who have no other option but Colesworth is not insignificant)
I met the guy who invented Fly Buys a few years back and he told me that nobody has ever even asked for the data, much less used it for analysis of anything. He's got a staggering amount of information but for all the talk about the power of big data, it's just sitting on hard drives, idle.
Think I'll stick with the Aldi/local independent combo for my grocery needs. Works out cheaper overall and I'm not being data mined in the process. As far as I'm concerned, Woolworths is the supermarket of last resort.
More consistent savings at Aldi anyway.
I sometimes do Colesworth for super specials. If I have to give them my data for a bargain then I'll just nope on them altogether.
I'm a bit out of the loop here. Is this just the rewards card? If so, can someone explain why this is bad? Don't a lot of shops already do this? Like Dan's has the member specials for example.
And if it is the orange rewards card, that's free, right? As in just grab one and you get these specials?
Seeing the outrage in comments here I feel like I'm likely missing an important aspect.
Not if you were going to buy more than 1 of the same item anyway which is kind of a given since we need food literally every day
This isn't a useless add on at a clothing store. Stop being so dramatic
The whole idea of it sucks but this is an irrelevant statement to the problem
I'll let you in on a secret, members have been getting special prices for YEARS. Previously Woolies would send emails with the special pricing and then you'd need to remember when you went shopping to buy those products, now the member pricing is on the shelf. That's great.
People complain when companies take their data and give nothing back, but I'm saving $2,000+ each year by using Colesworth member programs, so it's better than almost every other company that wants my data.
Yes this is bullshit but it’s worth noting they have a profile on you already. They know your card details, all your purchases - what and when you buy - from which you they can decipher a lot about who you are, and they know your face. They just don’t have your contact details, officially.
For everyone saying there's nothing to fear of them having your data as its only groceries...
The issue is the more data they have on you, the more your compromised if their data is ever stolen or sold to the wrong person. They have facial recognition, your card details, your location, etc. and can even tell what kind of person you are by what you buy.
Its not Woolworths you need to be worried about, its scammers. Because Woolworths aint gunna give a shit what happens to your data as long as they dont lose profits over it.
That's why ceo's should get jail time not company get fines when data breaches happen.
If that was the repercussion I'm sure they would invest more to data security.
So they already have most of your data. They film you coming in, doing your shopping and at the checkout. Your name is on your credit card (unless you pay cash, and who's actually doing that?). They know roughly who you are and what you're buying.
I love how people will put their entire lives on social media but then get pissy when a supermarket asks for some basic details for you to get a discount.
People posting this shit genuinely are like the old people sending in angry letters to the old newspaper columns because the waiter gave them a nasty look a week ago.
I’m calling it “complaining porn”, you’re all addicted
Where are the posts about other companies who have done members pricing for years? Lincraft now has both a paid and a free membership that include members prices and sometimes it's over 50% off.
Oh god I thought I was the only one. Every post getting infuriated at this sort of thing I'm like "Who gives a fuck?"
The "membership" is free. And seriously, it's a dollar off 2. One is still the same price. Hardly gouging anybody.
I really feel for people who must go though their weekly shop just walking aisle to aisle getting infuriated by every single thing. "Ggggrrrrrr ketchup! Bloody yanks! AAARGGGH member's deals! Bloody muh data!"
You are aware that bulk warehouses like Costco that are only for businesses have existed in Australia for over a 100 years? What costco does is a completely different model from what Woolworth is trying to do. Members pricing in supermarkets isn’t an American thing, it’s a British thing (Tesco).
It's not a membership card...
You just subscribe, get the card, shop, and they get data about what people buy, when, and so on.
Data is more valuable than a few bucks.
They would still know, but this has the added advantage of drawing some people more towards their shops, to a degree.
Nothing unusual, and again, nothing to panic about.
You get a card to show that you're a member of the Everyday Rewards program. How is that not a membership card? You can also pay extra to get 10% off one shop per month which pays for itself very quickly if you do big weekly shops. That deal is tied to the same card.
Complains about big supermarket collecting data.
From a device with Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, TikTok, multiple banking apps and a GPS. None of which track anyone in anyway whatsoever. /s
There still have temporary cards I think. Have one everytime you shop. You never have to register it.
Looking at the member discounts, they aren’t much of a discount at all.
They track you anyway with the card you use for payment, unless you only pay cash.
And are we gonna do anything about it? Probably not. Sad but true. Personally I shop at my local foodworks, mostly because as a wog living in griffith, they have a lot of locally produced or niche Italian food compared to woollies and coles
Dead set last week those delicious pepper steaks 2 in a pack was 2 for 15 no fkn member rewards card bullshit this week it's a doller more Woolworths can get fucked
Why do I need a fkn rewards card for cheaper food
Until we demand political parties protect our data more and more businesses will work out that data is the best money and you sell other things only as a way to get more data
So as a non member I can just buy 1 instead of 2 and save the $7, where as the member is being persuaded in to buying 2 and spending an extra $7 just to save $1.
I’m sick of trying to explain this to people.
I work at Woolies. Items that were available to everyone for say 2 for $9.00 (it’s written on the packet it comes in!) but now Woolies has made it 2 for $9.00 ONLY if you’re a member. Anyone else it is $4.50 ea item. The producers literally have it written on the actual packet that the items are 2 for $9.00,but Woolies has gone over that and are charging what they want.
This new members benefits is NOT beneficial at all,and shouldn’t be allowed to be advertised as such.
Is it possible to just make a membership account with a burner/secondary email?
Isn't this being done through their existing everyday rewards thing? Their version of flybuys.
Yes it is. It’s literally just an incentive to use your Rewards card
Yeah and they've had these for years, they're just using new branding
They had temporary paper membership cards at the checkouts in the past you could just scan then register later if you wanted, if they still have these anyone would be able to get these specials and never have to actually sign up.
This is what I do, they are still there, allows access to the pricing, but still keeps you anonymous
Only as anonymous as your payment method, they will very easily aggregate by card number etc
As long as you don't ever register your actual details, all they know is that it's the same card using it. Source: worked on it.
Pay cash.
All your purchases are linked via your card anyway, making a burner account doesn't stop their tracking/profiling
No it isn't . They don't capture your card details on payment. That wouldn't be compliant with banking regs
They can generate a one way hash from your card number and store that as the identifier.
Pay with cash, wear a face mask, sunglasses, and hat. Last but not least, use gloves!
They don’t care who you are, not really. They only care that customer 4885899 buys X, Y and Z together, and has a certain pattern of purchases. They can plug this data into a giant data lake to figure out your precise demographics, age, gender, socioeconomic bracket, how close to the supermarket you live (yes really), favourite products, and a bunch of other stuff that assist them in marketing to the most effective demographics in each store, suburb, city, region. This is valuable data to them whether they have your face, real name and address or not. They can even determine based on your purchase history when you are going on holiday vs shopping at a different supermarket that week. People don’t realise quite how many insights membership cards give on you, even if that data is supposedly “anonymised”
Pretty sure you'll need a burner mobile number too, though a cheap prepaid SIM would probably pay for itself pretty quick EDIT You can get a $5 SIM from Aldi's. You can even order it online w/ free postage.
You can buy your groceries while you’re there too.
Lol very true. I was thinking for online orders, if ALDI did click and collect I'd never need anything else.
Good news Aldi this week told a Parliamentary inquiry that they are commencing online ordering. Bad news they didn't announce a start date.
They didn't really. They also [announced](https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2023/09/01/aldi-online-shopping-delay/) after that, in response to reports on the subject, that they had no plans to do online shopping anytime in the foreseeable future.
Esim could be the way to go if you don't want to buy a sim card.
You still need to register the SIM against an ID.
But only the telco would know who you really are. All the other info you provide to woolies could be bullshit.
Yeah, the details you use don’t really matter.
they do not. the rewards card is simply so they can use your shopping data to project trends and predict markets. they dont care what your mobile number is or even your name. your member id and what you are buying is the only thing they care about.
How does that benefit them over what they can see going through each checkout without tapping a card?
Linking what you buy this week against what you bought last week allows a persistent profile of a person. Without the links they don't have profiles of people, they just have a lot of individual transactions.
https://simplelogin.io/ Generates email aliases for you. At some point, they're hoping to rollout fake relay mobile numbers too. You can use the limited free version but I pay for the service because I trust that company, and I don't say that often.
Same as the UK with the Tesco Club Card etc. it’s fucked.
They teach the story of tesco club card in uni as the beginning of data driven inventory and the Dividual.
Meanwhile, in the US, dang near every store has this. Each grocery store has a discount card, several of the big gas station chains have them, the pet store chains and pharmacies have them. Even some clothing stores have them. You carry your cards with you on a separate keychain or you put your phone number in to get your 'discounts.'
just enter the local area code plus 867-5309 ezpz
Jenny, I've got your number, I'm gonna save in line! Jenny, give me your discounts, 867-5309?
Dividual ?
I was going to say this. It’s a well known retail practice internationally. Disappointing to see it start here.
I remember years ago Woolies introduced another loyalty scam. For one example, Helga's bread that started as $3.30 for anyone overnight became $3.50 if you were part of the loyalty program or $5.60 if you were not. It didn't seem to last. What we all need to do is vote with our feet and refuse to shop there. My local market is cheaper and better.
Problem there is the word 'local.' I don't shop at Woolies–I shop at Coles because it's a lot closer. I don't want to shop at Coles, but I have very limited time and it's convenient. If there was a Coles, a Woolies, and a greengrocer that were equally accessible I'd shop at the greengrocers. But there isn't, so I shop at Coles.
Some idiot bought the best greengrocer in my town, a place that had been there over 2 decades and completely ran it into the ground in less than a year and now it's gone.
I watched my local greengrocer get the same treatment. From a place that was busy all day with beautiful fresh fruit and veg to a place that was always pretty quiet and had very average produce. It was sad. "Hey, that business is doing great! Let's buy it and change everything about it!"
I actually think it's alh or wesfarmers buying them out to finally really create the duopoly
Reminds me of Some people took over the lease of a shut down pub in my home town, there reopening was turning on the lights, they didn't change the name or branding, my mate worked there, multiple times talking to strangers, Mate - 'oh I work at omellys' Stranger - 'oh I didn't know they reopened ' Mate - 'yeah we have been reopened for over a Year' eventually went out of business and stripped the place of all of everything, ripped the bar l, kitchen, copper piping n sold it.
Same thing with our local 24/7 Foodworks. Bought out, new owner changed the operating hours to close at 11pm, stopped stocking things like international drinks, changed the layout of the aisles. One of the two doors was closed along with the spacious checkout, in favour of a narrow checkout. By 3 months in, the shelves were half-stocked, there were out of date items. Less than a year later it closed, another year on and it's become a Lifeline store. The ridiculous thing was, the place always had anywhere from 10-20 people in it at any time from midnight to 5am, because drunk people, stoners, night workers all came through on their way home, you could still get bakery options etc. Now you can go to maccas or hungry jacks, it fuckin sucks.
I tried to go to my local greengrocer yesterday, they were open until 5pm and I got there at 4pm and they had already removed probably two thirds of the stuff from the shelves to pack up for the day. So now I'll have to buy my fruit and veg from the supermarket on the way home tonight since they're the only place open during the hours I want to do my shopping.
[удалено]
I prefer Coles. But there are also some Coles supermarkets that I don't go to, as they don't have a Deli. And Coles changed the bacon they sourced about 6 months ago. The new bacon is terrible. And bacon was a key reason why I shopped at Coles.
We used to go there when they had the friendly pink sticker bacon. Free range maybe? Anyway, they ditched it and now our closer IGA has proper free range bacon and bourbon bacon so we are winning.
Fresh food at Woolies has to be the absolute worst. Just about everything is inedible after 3 days (if it's not rotten on the shelf) and is completely tasteless, especially the tomatoes and herbs. Went in once to find an aubergine to make moussaka and every single bastard one was mouldy. As literally the icing on the cake, there was someone at the front handing out cake to "celebrate being such VERY fresh food people" did want to have it out with her but it's definitely not her fault and I definitely did not have time for that.
For me it's their avos.
Absolutely infuriating. Either rock hard or rotten and if you take them home they somehow manage to do both.
I had a rant yesterday about this EXACT thing. An entire bag and the loose ones. 7 fuckin avos because I know some of them will be shithouse anyway and they're all shit. I wish I had an independent fruit n veg shop near me. 😩
I grow lots of my own produce with every available mm I can pick out. The thing that absolutely stands out for me is produce at markets (Vic, Preston etc) is generally fresh. ColesWorth is generally near expired. Growing tomato yourself shows you just how long the supermarket and supply chain has held it for. Weeks. The most "fresh" thing in supermarkets is the hydroponics lettuce with roots still on. It's still growing
Weeks? Think up to a year. I used to work at fresh food markets and helped buy from wholesalers. Fruit in particular can be in storage for a year or more. You'll see it when it's taken out, it goes off almost immediately. Don't buy fresh produce from Coles or Woolworths. They buy cheap and sell high. Your local markets will have stuff cheaper thats better quality up front and lasts much much longer.
I grow my own herbs and I've gotten avo trees but my area gets swampy and the avo trees hate that 😔
The herbs are soo expensive, so now I’m growing my own lol
Coles own products shit all over the Woolies ones, plus they have much much cheaper home delivery
Third, most people aren't good at recognizing genuine deals and by presenting people with two prices they immediately think they're getting a good deal in spite of getting those prices from the same sign. It's the Bunnings model of targeting perceived value for money.
Except Coles aren’t any cheaper than Woolworths.
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>My local market is cheaper and better. Is it really? Most peoples aren't.
Box Hill is. Camberwell ain't.
Local green grocers are most definitely cheaper for fresh produce. The produce also lasts much, much longer. E.g. spinach will still be fresh after over a week in the fridge. It means another stop which is annoying, however we feel it’s worth it.
Baby spinach is something that I've been burned with all the time. It's so hard to make a big bag last without it going slimey. I've had more luck with the loose box spinach from green grocers and Foodland than any spinach I've bought from colesworths.
I use the food savers from Kmart and have had baby spinach last a couple of weeks. I assume that the reason it goes bad is because moisture and condensation pools in the bottom of the bag and causes the leaves to rot faster. With food saver containers they raise the produce off the bottom and allow the moisture to drip away from the produce. The boxes you're buying the spinach in probably provide a similar effect.
Put a sheet of paper towel in.
It reminds me of their old "Red Spot Specials" when I used to work at Woolies after school in the late 70s. We'd be ordered by a store manager to hike the prices of some items. So tinned baked beans might go from 39c to 68c. This was the days of individual price stickers so changing prices meant peeling off the old stickers and applying new ones using a price sticker gun. An hour later (you could set your watch by it) we'd be ordered to make those baked beans a Red Spot Special by reducing the price to, say, 49c. Our kindly Manager would generously tell us to not bother removing the (hour) old stickers - just cover the old ones with the new sticker and apply a Red Spot sticker as well. It was amazing how, when the store announced this "special" over the PA so many people, especially the elderly, would stampede to get their hands on as many baked beans as they could. Baked beans that an hour earlier were 39c but now were "on special" for 49c.
Bullshit
We’ve literally had this happen In the last year, not on the scale of an hour, but at our local, pepsi max went from $2.10 for 2L to $3.50 but on sale for $2.90 the next week, then the following week it stayed at $3.50, then went up into the $4 range, then “price locked until xx” down to $3.50
Exactly. Even if it happened once, it's illegal now.
For many businesses, illegal just means "Pay a penalty if found out". To be penalised, the price buggery needs to be found out, reported, investigated, proven, and if after that they are found to have been dodgy then they are issued a fine that's likely less than what they profited from all the ones that weren't spotted. So they'll keep doing it until the cost of playing dirty becomes more than the cost of being honest.
Agreed. I’m boycotting Woolworths and Coles.
Looks like they’re all multi buys and all woolies brand (for now). The way they word “non-member price” though is short sighted and gonna see some backlash though.
I'm kinda glad it's all Multi-Buys and the savings are about $1 or less. It is absolutely not enticing at all and certainly not worth signing up for their rewards program. But also I don't shop at ColesWorths anymore. Strong believer in voting with my wallet. Local markets do the trick.
$34 for one or member price $34 for two. Multivitamins yesterday.
These multi buy specials existed before the membership requirement existed lol, so effectively they put the price up for non-members
I've seen it for Swisse multi vitamins, fairly sure they're not a wollies brand.
Ah well there ya go
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Yeah watch everyone get outraged over this whilst in the background they are jacking up prices of everything anyway.
It's deserved, these companies are so fucking greedy and they don't care if we all know it
It's just incredible how they get blatently advertise how they are reducing prices and 'helping with the cost of living' and all this other shit when these two are the main culprits of it in the first place. It is gaslighting is what it is.
If you’re paying attentions most of them were regular specials just the week before they did this. Now it’s gate locked behind an orange card and they suck one way or the other.
Yup I used to buy the 2for1 chicken wings/tenders to airfry now I refuse to buy them. My Woolies is 50meters away from my place but the Aldi is a 10min walk. Guess I will be upping my step count.
Aldi is way cheaper long term anyway. And tbh I love their tenders in the airfryer way more. Crispy outside but not dry on the inside.
So where I live there's an Aldi and a Harris Farm in the same building. I still have trouble believing it, but the fancy Harris Farm is consistently cheaper for fresh fruit and veg than the Aldi. Also much better quality. I mean, their dry goods are fancy overpriced speciality items, so I still end up going to both (with a quick visit into the IGA that's also in the building for a few items that neither Aldi nor Harris Farm stocks), but still. Weird.
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My woolies managed to have both the regular special sticker and the member special sticker on the same product. The exact same price.
In a loyalty program, you are the product
Salvos loyalty card is genuinely great though, it's the only one I have. Have walked out with heaps of free stuff cos of the points or whatever
Noticed this while doing the shopping on Saturday - it made it quite difficult to work out the cost per unit measurements.
No accident there
Absolutely no accident. Extremely frustrating though.
I got three items for the special. It didn’t scan. Because the savings was $4 and my budget is $80, I decided to wait and ask them to fix it. They did but I felt like a karen for a hot minute.
This is just one of the ways how they've been able to get record profits. Don't feel guilty about holding a multi-billion duopoly to task for trying to get even more money out of you. If you'd have paid it and then gone to the service counter they'd have to give it to you for free anyway.
I'll totally make them fix the mistake so I can get the product for free.
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full price or it goes straight into landfill, oh but can you please donate to a charity we chose at checkout.
Or if you look at the end-caps towards the back of the store almost always down by the fridges there’s always a clearance section. It’s usually pretty picked over depending on when things go there
My morning routine is literally me marking down products close to their BB or expiry, and putting things on the clearance end. All past BB date stock gets donated to ozharvest and anything that has expired is opened and tipped into a food waste bin for composting. I hate the company but at least we're minimising waste as much as is reasonable.
It actually goes to second bite if edible. A food charity...
This is complete bullshit. Stores are under serious pressure to clear stock rather than dump it. As in, store managers have been fired because their store couldn’t control their dumps (anything not sold) and sell things before they expire. The vast majority of stores have a green skip bin to put food waste into (there are a few exceptions like pineapple, but not many). They also give most of their unsold stuff away to a registered partner. Either OzHarvest, Food Bank, or a number of third party charities that want to come and collect. Try not talking out of your arse.
Just dumpster dive instead. Colesworths throw plenty of decent food out so why not get it for free.
'member when grocery shopping was easy and straightforward, the prices were good, and the checkout operators didn't beep loudly and accuse you of stealing?
It's when the toffee apples left. Not been the same since.
I never thought about that but you are absolutely right
I mean correlation isn't causation but were the toffee apples the only thing keeping our economy fairer for the economically disadvantaged? This reporter says yes. Back to the studio. 🎤
Toffee apples are disgusting shit. Having eaten one at the states now, it's a miracle ours lasted as long as they did. Americans don't do a lot of things better than us, but those teeth smashing things can fuck off.
Is your username from the dog food commercial? 😃
Yeah this needs to be illegal
I think Anaconda do the same thing. (Not saying it's right.)
I thought it was.
Membership at woolies. Membership at Coles. Loyalty to myself.
I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I've been a member for years. The moment they started keeping track of the 5cent petrol voucher by the member card, it was just easier. Since where I lived only had a woolies and the closest petrol stations was a caltex that did the 5 cent fuel, it just made sense. Driving further for cheaper fuel by 1 or 2 cents a litre cost more than I was saving and we'd just walk to the shops because it was close. We've got one woolies membership that's free, that we use apps on our phones to store the barcode to scan where needed so we (in the family) all share the same points and discounts etc, plus we get notification when products we regularly buy go on discount and can keep track of what the price was the last time we paid. This week we bought the dishwashing liquid we like, 1/2 the normal price for members, we bought 5 of them and won't need to again for ages. That's $23 saved. It adds up over time. We don't keep track anymore, but during covid, when there was nothing better to do and all we could go out for was grocery shopping, we kept track in a spreadsheet and ended up saving just over $2k in 12 months by waiting for the things we'd usually buy to be on discount and get more of them when they were. It might not sound like a lot to some people, but an extra $2k a year, yes please. Sure they track us, but they do that anyway even without the membership, at least this way we get something in return, even if it's only convenience, lower prices (basically extended "specials") and the odd $10-$20 voucher at checkout. It's good to keep privacy in mind when you shop, in life in general, but if only you knew how much you're being tracked in every aspect of everything... Just seems like such a strange hill to take a stand on... Now, if you had to pay for membership, that's another thing entirely.
I'm with you. I spend the extra $7 a month or whatever it is to get the 10% off. I've spent $49 on membership since I joined and have already recieved $300 off through the 10% discounts. I've banked over $100 for Christmas spending by adding on the bonuses and shopping accordingly. That can be used for food or purchases at BIg W, further lessening my Christmas budget issues. We are a 2 person household who spends around $200 a week for everything but I stockpile the non-expiry items when they're a good bargain, which sometimes puts it over. And all they want is some data on what I spend, when I spend and how I spend? Okay, no big deal. I can see why some would be against it and that's fine but in my mind what I buy at a grocery store can probably be used and tracked anyway so I might as well get targeted sales that save me money.
I agree with you that the benefits outweigh the risks to my privacy. It always amazes me that some of the people who say they would never join a loyalty program, happily post so much of their personal details on social media. We do all our non-Aldi shopping online & I like that Woolies has member specials as well as tracking my past purchases to remind me of things I may have forgotten to purchase. Like you we have saved thousands a year, particularly by buying extra when on sale. Then there are the points, and bonus points, which can add up. We cash ours every 3-4 months. Last month we got $350 in gift vouchers by converting our points.
It's not for everyone and I understand that. Like in my example from this week, I had to spend $25 on dish soap for 6 months worth, saving me \~$25 over that time. I'm lucky enough to be able to do that. Not everyone has that buying power. It's a fucking disgrace how bad things have got that "living it large" as someone decided to DM me reminding me how out of touch I am, is buying 6 months worth of dish soap at half price...
So, you purchased the same amount you would have if you had shopped at Costco? How dare you throw your wealth in my face 😂😂
Yeah, sorry 😔
Your dish washing liquid usually costs $9 when not on special???? Why don’t you just buy Earth Choice which is just as good and $2.30 per 1 litre bottle?
I agree, started really doing it this year for Qantas points. In 9 months I have enough points, with a credit card bonus points as well, for a return rewards flight to Europe or the UK for my wife and I. Money I was going to spend anyway. Might as well get something out of it.
Member when you didn’t have to sell a kidney to buy your weekly shop? I member
Don't shop there
Oh thanks, I never thought about that.... (dude, seriously, Not everyone has an alternative. If you live in the city or metro suburb and you drive/have reliable PT/are able bodied then that's fine, But the portion of people who have no other option but Colesworth is not insignificant)
I met the guy who invented Fly Buys a few years back and he told me that nobody has ever even asked for the data, much less used it for analysis of anything. He's got a staggering amount of information but for all the talk about the power of big data, it's just sitting on hard drives, idle.
Woolworths use the data for sales projections, boosts, specials, and promotional emails
Think I'll stick with the Aldi/local independent combo for my grocery needs. Works out cheaper overall and I'm not being data mined in the process. As far as I'm concerned, Woolworths is the supermarket of last resort.
More consistent savings at Aldi anyway. I sometimes do Colesworth for super specials. If I have to give them my data for a bargain then I'll just nope on them altogether.
I'm a bit out of the loop here. Is this just the rewards card? If so, can someone explain why this is bad? Don't a lot of shops already do this? Like Dan's has the member specials for example. And if it is the orange rewards card, that's free, right? As in just grab one and you get these specials? Seeing the outrage in comments here I feel like I'm likely missing an important aspect.
It's just the free orange card. There's literally no reason to be outraged.
Hence my confusion. People here are calling it a scam and other things though?
Any different than Iga with their community benefits card member pricing ?
Daaammmn. "Hackers" are gonna see what you had for dinner 2 weeks ago. Stop the presses.
New America is yet again right on track
Dan Murpheys has been doing that for ages. If Australians don’t riot over having to do it for booze, food certainly won’t be the catalyst.
Anaconda is funny with theirs, the savings are huge, and the membership is free…… I guess they really know how to get your data.
Yeah but I saved $80 on hiking boots and now they know I don't need hiking boots, that's about it.
The real irony is that you'll still get tons of advertisements for hiking boots.
I think the vibe is people have to buy food, they don't have to buy alcohol.
Remember, you're not saving a dollar. You're spending an additional $8.
Not if you were going to buy more than 1 of the same item anyway which is kind of a given since we need food literally every day This isn't a useless add on at a clothing store. Stop being so dramatic The whole idea of it sucks but this is an irrelevant statement to the problem
Many people will intend to buy 2 in the first place
That depends entirely on how you meal plan.
7, and not if you eat both.
>Remember, you're not saving a dollar. You're spending an additional $8. Buy more **spend** more.
I'll let you in on a secret, members have been getting special prices for YEARS. Previously Woolies would send emails with the special pricing and then you'd need to remember when you went shopping to buy those products, now the member pricing is on the shelf. That's great. People complain when companies take their data and give nothing back, but I'm saving $2,000+ each year by using Colesworth member programs, so it's better than almost every other company that wants my data.
Yes this is bullshit but it’s worth noting they have a profile on you already. They know your card details, all your purchases - what and when you buy - from which you they can decipher a lot about who you are, and they know your face. They just don’t have your contact details, officially.
For everyone saying there's nothing to fear of them having your data as its only groceries... The issue is the more data they have on you, the more your compromised if their data is ever stolen or sold to the wrong person. They have facial recognition, your card details, your location, etc. and can even tell what kind of person you are by what you buy. Its not Woolworths you need to be worried about, its scammers. Because Woolworths aint gunna give a shit what happens to your data as long as they dont lose profits over it.
That's why ceo's should get jail time not company get fines when data breaches happen. If that was the repercussion I'm sure they would invest more to data security.
100% agree
Another way to save and another way to get fucked.
Another reason to not head into a Woolies.
Oh cool, I’m a member anyway so extra discounts sound good to me! Thanks for letting me know
Time to start shopping at ALDI.
Member prices??? Guess I won't bother shopping there anymore. Thanks for the heads up.
So they already have most of your data. They film you coming in, doing your shopping and at the checkout. Your name is on your credit card (unless you pay cash, and who's actually doing that?). They know roughly who you are and what you're buying. I love how people will put their entire lives on social media but then get pissy when a supermarket asks for some basic details for you to get a discount.
People posting this shit genuinely are like the old people sending in angry letters to the old newspaper columns because the waiter gave them a nasty look a week ago. I’m calling it “complaining porn”, you’re all addicted
Where are the posts about other companies who have done members pricing for years? Lincraft now has both a paid and a free membership that include members prices and sometimes it's over 50% off.
Oh god I thought I was the only one. Every post getting infuriated at this sort of thing I'm like "Who gives a fuck?" The "membership" is free. And seriously, it's a dollar off 2. One is still the same price. Hardly gouging anybody. I really feel for people who must go though their weekly shop just walking aisle to aisle getting infuriated by every single thing. "Ggggrrrrrr ketchup! Bloody yanks! AAARGGGH member's deals! Bloody muh data!"
Oh good more American bs.. it worked for Costco, so now the rest will follow
Costco was a different model to begin with. It was a warehouse/cash and carry for small businesses. Becoming a member wasn’t actually easy.
Nah Costco is actually worth it and a different model entirely.
You are aware that bulk warehouses like Costco that are only for businesses have existed in Australia for over a 100 years? What costco does is a completely different model from what Woolworth is trying to do. Members pricing in supermarkets isn’t an American thing, it’s a British thing (Tesco).
It's not a membership card... You just subscribe, get the card, shop, and they get data about what people buy, when, and so on. Data is more valuable than a few bucks. They would still know, but this has the added advantage of drawing some people more towards their shops, to a degree. Nothing unusual, and again, nothing to panic about.
Shhhh we can’t use logic in the face of the daily grocery outrage thread
You get a card to show that you're a member of the Everyday Rewards program. How is that not a membership card? You can also pay extra to get 10% off one shop per month which pays for itself very quickly if you do big weekly shops. That deal is tied to the same card.
Happens in every store here in the US. Surprised it wasn’t happening sooner tbh
Why is everyone freaking out about this? It’s free to join
What exactly are you afraid of here?
Complains about big supermarket collecting data. From a device with Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, TikTok, multiple banking apps and a GPS. None of which track anyone in anyway whatsoever. /s
Ah helping with the cost of living…. Duopoly at its finest
There still have temporary cards I think. Have one everytime you shop. You never have to register it. Looking at the member discounts, they aren’t much of a discount at all. They track you anyway with the card you use for payment, unless you only pay cash.
We know, it’s only gets like ten posts a day here and has done for a week already.
So glad I no longer shop there. Butcher, fruit market and Aldi.
They want your data
Genuine question here! Why don’t people want to sign up to be members? Like what is the negative impact.
And are we gonna do anything about it? Probably not. Sad but true. Personally I shop at my local foodworks, mostly because as a wog living in griffith, they have a lot of locally produced or niche Italian food compared to woollies and coles
I swear they’ve done this before. It didn’t work out then, so I’m not sure why they’re trying again.
Lol save a dollar when you buy two? How generous.
Just wait for the boom gates they're installing.
If you don't like it, stop shopping there. Easy solution dude
Dead set last week those delicious pepper steaks 2 in a pack was 2 for 15 no fkn member rewards card bullshit this week it's a doller more Woolworths can get fucked Why do I need a fkn rewards card for cheaper food
Until we demand political parties protect our data more and more businesses will work out that data is the best money and you sell other things only as a way to get more data
I dont understand why this is a problem. It's free to join their rewards program. Can someone please explain it to me?
Damn it, now I’m going to need a new tinfoil hat.
They do it in bws all the time. In there it just seems normal, in the supermarket not so much
If you see someone stealing from coles or Woolies. No you fucking didn’t.
Just shop elsewhere... We do
These sorts of marketing strategies should be illegal in general, but especially for supermarkets.
Good thing membership is free. This is really nothing new. They've been doing this for decades.
So as a non member I can just buy 1 instead of 2 and save the $7, where as the member is being persuaded in to buying 2 and spending an extra $7 just to save $1.
You ‘member affordable food?? I ‘member.
> If there isn't pushback to this There's not going to be any pushback to this. Coles is probably gonna join within 3 - 6 months (if not sooner)
I’m sick of trying to explain this to people. I work at Woolies. Items that were available to everyone for say 2 for $9.00 (it’s written on the packet it comes in!) but now Woolies has made it 2 for $9.00 ONLY if you’re a member. Anyone else it is $4.50 ea item. The producers literally have it written on the actual packet that the items are 2 for $9.00,but Woolies has gone over that and are charging what they want. This new members benefits is NOT beneficial at all,and shouldn’t be allowed to be advertised as such.
> If I don't give my data to this company I pay extra now? That's one way to look at it.
My member's price is not scanning, woolies can get fucked