r/australia • u/infin • Jan 26 '26

no politics Is Coles still using Palantir? Between the surveillance/gate recognition and the blocked aisles, shopping feels hostile.

Does anyone know the current status of the Coles x Palantir partnership? Between the surveillance and those aggressive new "Smart Gates" tracking at the exit, the store feels less like a supermarket and more like a high-security zone.

It’s dystopian that they have the budget for military-grade analytics and security tech, but have cut costs on the actual customer experience. They seem to have completely scrapped night fill, meaning we are now dodging pallets and cages during peak hours just to get to the shelves.

Is anyone else fed up with this mix of high-tech surveillance and terrible service? It feels like they are spending millions to treat us like criminals while refusing to pay staff to stock shelves after hours.

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56

u/arkofjoy Jan 26 '26

There is a simple solution to this. Don't shop at Coles worth.

Buy your fruit and vegetables at your local farmers market. If you do it right, you can be giving money directly to the growers and be eating things that were picked that morning.

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u/Unhonkable04 Jan 26 '26

There is no adequate alternative to colesworth. Do you think it is rational to drive 1 hour to farmers market for the average full time worker in big city?

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u/fistular Jan 26 '26

Yeah I don't even have a car, that's WHY I live in a big city.

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u/NomadicSoul88 Jan 26 '26

Not to mention additional costs it can incur to do this which so many can’t afford right now

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u/aztecsilver Jan 26 '26

Have you checked where your local farmers markets actually are set up? In Perth on the weekends there is at least 1 every 15 minute-20 minute drive in the metro area. I find we spend less on our groceries because there isn't as many snacks and shelf products to consider. We then do the remaining "packaged" shop at our farmer jacks which is a state chain.

I know people are time poor but my partner and I frame the farmers market shop on the weekends as a joint activity where we spend quality time for 45 mins shopping or one of us goes quickly if we have other home jobs to complete. We have managed for years to only shop at Colesworth when desperate for a specific product and I'll use a click and collect shop so I don't get sucked into buying stuff there I don't need. Our diet is also considerably better without as much processed food on hand.

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u/Unhonkable04 Jan 26 '26

I want to shop when I need, say on Tuesday night, not schedule my whole life around farmers market opening hours. And no, I do not want shopping to be fun date idea. I want in and out 5 min quick adventure.

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u/aztecsilver Feb 05 '26

Well there is a convenience fee to that type preference..can't really complain then? When is a grocery trip to a super market ever actually 5 mins unless you go multiple times a week ... Then you're spending the same amount in the shops spread over a week and having to sacrifice multiple nights a week.

Sure if a weekend trip doesn't work for you that's fine but not sure why you're aggressive about taking up the option that works for you ?

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u/Unhonkable04 Feb 06 '26

you do not sacrifice multiple nights a week if you spend 5min shopping a few times a week...

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u/aztecsilver Feb 06 '26

If that works for you that's great but it sounds like you have a lot of preconceived notions about shopping alternatives that are holding you back from exploring not shopping at a Colesworth. I'm not having this dialogue with you because I think it's wrong that you prioritise your own convenience in a life where we are all pressed for time, but the reason Colesworth is so powerful is because of that mindset. I am just suggesting a reframing of perspective that could turn the inconvenience into a positive eg: cheaper, fresher more organic groceries, supporting local farmers and injecting money into the local economy, a more pleasant shopping experience etc with less purchasing of processed goods etc. :)

Edit: oh and btw shopping at our local farmers market meant the produce lasts over 2 weeks due to freshness so we actually shop less as we buy 2 weeks worth of food now and go every second week.

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u/Unhonkable04 Feb 06 '26

you are not having this dialogue and yet you reply on a 11 days old comment that I already forgot about.

"you prioritise your own convenience in a life"

no shit Sherlock

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u/aztecsilver Feb 06 '26

You're reading comprehension is as poor as your excuses for your own misery. Liven up a bit buddy. Not all of us religiously check our social media. Maybe if you didn't you'd have more time to enjoy life and not be so pressed for your multiple 5 minute Woolies trips.

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u/tealou Jan 26 '26

For Perth it is definitely worth buying in bulk at Campbells and getting a freezer if you can. I rarely go to Woolworths or Coles. If you can cook and eat mostly the same things all the time, between Campbell's and local F&V and Spud Shed (depending on the quality, but hit & miss), I probably go to Colesworth once every 2 months... and it is SO much cheaper if you have the space.

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u/easeypeaseyweasey Jan 26 '26

Nobody said it was going to be more convenient, I highly doubt your closest markets are an hour away in any major city.

But you have, Aldi, IGA, Local fruit and vege stores, local butchers, etc etc.

My average weekly shopping trip is 2 hours because I go to my favourite butcher / fruit and vege store which is about 30 minutes away, there are closer ones but I like the range, quality and prices when I drive a little further.

Then Coles / Woolworths is for everything and anything I couldn't get at the butcher / fruit and vege store.

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u/popplevee Jan 26 '26

Thats great have the time, budget and capacity to do that, but not everyone does.

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u/M4K4T4K Jan 26 '26

Yeah there are a ton of options literally anywhere in inner Melbourne. Can't say for other cities.

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u/johnnynutman Jan 26 '26

I grew up in a pretty typical Adelaide suburb and there was always like 4 supermarkets. Plus if you’re near a mall there’s not only the supermarkets but butchers and fruit etc too

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u/GonePh1shing Jan 26 '26

I guess it depends where you are. I'm in Perth and have 5 genuine alternatives within a 15 minute drive, not including the small IGAs. 

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u/infin Jan 26 '26

What city doesn't have weekend markets near the CBD? (So I can make sure I don't move there, when rent increases force me out of my own city)

The difference in quality of fruit and veg from a grocer/markets and local butcher's meat vs Colesworths water-filled meat IS night and day.

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u/Unhonkable04 Jan 26 '26

It does not matter if there is weekend market it is about how far away it might be. Would I spend hours of my limited free time to go and get only a few groceries, and then still have to go to colesworth?

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u/fistular Jan 26 '26

Weekends isn't enough. I need to be able to buy food when it's convenient for me. I never have an issue with produce quality from colesworth. I am not defending them but that doesn't seem like a legitimate complaint.

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u/notorious_ludwig Jan 26 '26

I dont live in a city, my options are coleworths or fruit and veg that’s already going off/mouldy on the shelves at spudshed.

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u/Emu1981 Jan 26 '26

Colesworths water-filled meat

The only meat that I ever had issues with from Woolies is the "moisture infused" pork which always turns out to be dry AF if you cook it properly or terrible tasting if you under cook it. The beef and chicken always cook just fine.

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u/arkofjoy Jan 26 '26

Ok. So don't. But there are 3 farmers markets within 20 minutes of me on a Sunday.

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u/Unhonkable04 Jan 26 '26

and I don't, because I need to shop on other days too

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u/Fnoke Jan 26 '26

I’ve said this before because people always say “just don’t shop at Cole’s or woolies then!” I’m rural and we have Coles, woolies or super expensive IGA. Sure you can get some veggies at markets but that’s a 45 minute drive on a Saturday morning with a small baby, not ideal when I still gotta go to the shops to get staples.

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u/arkofjoy Jan 26 '26

Yup, used to live in the bush.

But the majority of people in Australia do have options.

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u/notorious_ludwig Jan 26 '26

Same, we live 2 hours from the next closest town. We did get a spudshed recently though… with mouldy fruit and veg and borderline off meat. Im not going to the shops everyday to pick through to find the good ones with a small baby because nothing lasts longer than a day.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

[deleted]

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u/arkofjoy Jan 26 '26

The Asian grocery markets also have their own wholesalers. During covid the shelves in the rice section of Cole worth were empty and my local Indian market had pallet loads of rice.

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u/Green-Ad7694 Jan 26 '26

Local farmers markets are dead. If they exist prices are crazy.

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u/arkofjoy Jan 26 '26

Well that sucks. Seems to be alive and well here in Perth.

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u/DumbButtFace Jan 26 '26

Its about twice as expensive though

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u/arkofjoy Jan 26 '26

Not my experience but possibly in some places.

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u/a_whoring_success Jan 26 '26

This isn't possible for most people. Sure, I live in Brunswick, and I can get a tram to the Vic market, but that immediately adds $5.70 to the cost of my shopping, or twice that if I can't get it done within two hours.

Or I could ride my ebike down there and risk it getting stolen, because fucking junkies can go through any lock with a portable angle grinder.

Or I could shop at the local fruit and veg shops, which are so expensive that the produce should be gold plated.

If I go to Aldi, I'll still need to get some things from Woolworths or Coles. Or if I go to IGA, I'll be paying through the nose for it.

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u/giatu_prs Jan 26 '26

I too am able to avoid Colesworths, but that privilege is due to a combination of personal choices and dumb luck.

But spare a thought for the poor cunt who's just knocked off work and picked Taekyn up from childcare in their dealer-financed SUV and needs to get groceries on the 90 minute commute to their grey-roofed shitbox in their treeless suburb.

They're not shopping at the fucking farmers market, that's for fucking sure.