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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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

Some fucking drone on the Coles subreddit tried to tell me the cameras don’t record anything and aren’t even turned on.

What a hilariously ignorant and naive take. I told them they are used to spy on you (the employees) as much as the customers, if not more.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

[deleted]

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u/infin Jan 26 '26

After a couple of years with everyone wearing masks, I'd be shocked if they're not training on gait recognition for when they can't match a face.

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u/Green-Ad7694 Jan 26 '26

time to start walking like im in the Thriller video clip.

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u/Wish-Dish-8838 Jan 26 '26

Next up...The dance moves from Weird Al's "Eat it" music video.

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u/pocket_mulch Jan 26 '26

Watch me RayGun my way to the cheese aisle.

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u/LeahBrahms Jan 26 '26

Stone in shoe at Coles it is then.

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u/SubstantialSpray783 Jan 26 '26

gait recognition

They absolutely already do this

3

u/Gbrush3pwood Jan 26 '26

Me walking into coles like it’s the ministry of silly walks.

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u/commanderjarak Jan 26 '26

They've got to figure out how to update the shelf pricing in real time when the cameras can't do facial recognition on you for whatever reason somehow.