Woolworths’ A$780 millon investment in new automated distribution centres is a sign of how much COVID-19 has changed the way we shop. It points what’s to come in the retail sector.
We surveyed over 100 Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and independent stores around Australia and found supermarkets are promoting unhealthy food much more often, and more prominently, than healthier products.
Stikeez, the latest collection of plastic collectables from Coles, flies in the face of the company’s plan to become Australia’s most sustainable supermarket.
Supermarket pharmacies have been around in the US, UK and mainland Europe for years. But will Australia follow?
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If Australia follows international trends and allows supermarkets to open pharmacies, what are the effects on neighbouring pharmacies? And when does running a business mean health care suffers?
Our collections are a part of us and our life story, and the act of collecting holds a certain comfort.
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Plastic bags will soon be gone from major supermarkets and many other shops too. Campaigns to reduce plastic even more should focus on positive advice, rather than shaming shoppers for their plastic use.
Supermarkets are stocking more of their own brands even as they shrink stores.
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Coles plans to compete with competitors by moving away from low prices to a focus on other attributes, such as sustainability, local produce and community.
What will we do for bin liners now?
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Banning single-use plastic bags makes sense, as long as it doesn’t usher in behaviours that are just as bad, or worse – like over-using heavier bags made of even more plastic.
Undoing shoppers’ engrained behaviours is a tricky job.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
The success of the plastic bag ban announced by Australia’s big two supermarkets will hinge on whether they can persuade customers to change an engrained behaviour - without annoying them.
Selling these new bags at 15 cents each, effectively creates another revenue stream with nearly A$71 million in gross profit.
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Moves by major to supermarkets to only offer plastic bags for a charge could make these businesses more than a million dollars a year, but it may only have a small impact on the environment.
Aldi’s decidedly Germanic expansion strategy continues to eat into Woolworths’ earnings.
AAP/Lukas Coch
For consumers of Australia’s retail sector, choice and convenience will continue to emerge. For incumbents unable to deliver on these outcomes, the future is bleak.
Pokies are great money-spinners for hotels, clubs and casinos in Australia, and increasingly internationally.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
The harm pokies cause is widespread and tends to affect those already under significant stress. $1 bets are a good first step toward reducing this harm.
Aldi has mastered the phantom product, even though customers know it’s not a brand in disguise.
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