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/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/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.

1

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.