How stores fighting thieves risk putting off shoppers with disabilities and kids |
“Welcome”, the sign at the supermarket entrance says, above a drawing of a shopper walking in and pushing a trolley.
But for many shoppers – especially those with wheelchairs, walkers or pushing kids in prams – it looks anything but welcoming.
Ten white batons stretch into the middle of the entryway, which you have to push through to enter. A Reddit user snapped the photo at a Woolworths store in suburban Melbourne this month and it soon went viral.
According to Woolworths, it’s a trial at just one store, being tested to see if deters thieves.
Retail theft is a huge, growing problem in Australia. There were more than 268,000 cases of theft in retail settings last year, according to data released in September. That came after 2024 research found record levels of shoplifting, employee theft, fraud and customer aggression costing up to A$7.79 billion.
Woolworths is not alone in trialling tougher physical security measures; other supermarkets here and in New Zealand have used this style of entry before. Kmart, Bunnings and other retailers........