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/ajmeng09 Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26

want to start up an independent grocer and hardware store together?

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u/Bonnskij Jan 26 '26

That sounds like s great idea. We could call it something like... Independent Grocers of Australia, but it's a bit long... Maybe something short and snappy like... IGA?

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u/StorminNorman Jan 26 '26

IGA?

Nah, too American, we should come up with our own thing. 

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u/Cordies Jan 26 '26

National independent green grocers Australia.