Major change coming to Woolworths supermarket aisles

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Sydney Morning Herald
7 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Fresh ASX record high approaches 9000 milestone; Ampol surges on $1.1b deal; Baby Bunting soars
Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day. The numbers The Australian sharemarket hit a fresh record high every day this week and is closing in on the 9000 milestone, with Friday's session carried by energy, banking, and mining giants. The S&P/ASX 200 gained 64.8 points, or 0.7 per cent, to close at 8938.6, with each day this week finishing higher than the last. Friday's gains came despite a middling session on Wall Street driven by a disappointing report that said US inflation at the wholesale level was worse last month than economists expected. The lifters Financials were one of the best-performing sectors of the day, climbing nearly 1.1 per cent. The big banks, which were mixed earlier in the day, all finished higher: Westpac gained 2.1 per cent, ANZ Bank rose 1.8 per cent, NAB added 0.8 per cent and even the Commonwealth Bank rose 0.6 per cent. Mining was another outperforming sector, finishing 1.1 per cent higher. Rio Tinto gained 1.4 per cent and Fortescue rose 1.3 per cent, while BHP lifted 1.1 per cent. Loading Energy stocks also rose (1.1 per cent). Santos added 1.8 per cent and Woodside added 0.2 per cent. Petrol and diesel supplier Ampol jumped 7.7 per cent after announcing a major expansion plan with the acquisition of British fuel giant EG Group's Australian petrol station network. If the $1.1 billion deal gains regulatory approval, Ampol, formerly known as Caltex Australia, would add EG's 500 fuel sites to its business, enabling it to fast-track the roll-out unstaffed, self-service petrol stations under its U-GO brand.

News.com.au
15 hours ago
- News.com.au
Secret Woolies feature solves common supermarket problem
A little-known feature in the Woolworths app is quietly transforming the weekly grocery shop for those who have discovered it. For anyone who's ever wandered the aisles searching for a niche cooking ingredient or mustered the courage to ask a store assistant where the pickles are, the supermarket's 'Product Finder' feature is the tool you've always wished existed. It's understood to have launched in October last year and is now available in 300 Woolworths stores across New South Wales. It allows shoppers to locate items instantly, without needing to rely on the laminated aisle directories. How it works By switching the app into 'in-store' mode and setting your local Woolworths as your preferred store, you'll then see the Product Finder tile on the home screen. Customers can then either type or speak the name of the item they're looking for. The app will then display the product, along with related items, and tell you exactly which aisle it's in. If you're happy to share your phone's location, there's an even more advanced option. The app can show you a detailed map of the store and function like GPS, guiding you straight to the product you're after. It even integrates with Olive, the supermarket's AI voice assistant, so shoppers can verbally ask where to find something without touching their screen. Woolworths say it's a tool built for convenience A Woolworths spokesperson told that, 'Over one million Woolworths customers now rely on the Woolworths app as an essential part of their shopping routine as they use it to manage their shop both online and in our aisles. 'Once users have set their preferred store in the app, customers can access their local store floor plan to easily navigate and find their favourite products more quickly and conveniently,' they said. Shoppers respond Reactions from shoppers have been mixed. Some say they'll stick to asking a store employee for help or referring to the printed directories at the end of the aisles. However, others have praised the feature as a 'game-changer' that'll 'help cut down time and mental effort' while shopping. 'There's nothing worse than pacing up and down the aisles looking for something specific, only to realise it's back in the first aisle I looked in,' one person told 'I sometimes use the laminated cards, but they don't have everything on them and only show the basics, so this will be great,' another said. A third shopper added: 'I would definitely use it in a store I am not familiar with. How handy'. And a busy mum-of-three said it would be 'perfect for those moments when you're rushing into a store for a specific item – something you don't usually cook with or a new product'. Given that Woolworths stocks an average of 20,000 products in each store, this new feature is sure to become popular.

Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Sky News AU
‘Customers know they can rely on us': Aldi crowned ‘supermarket of the year' for the eighth year in a row
German discount supermarket Aldi has been crowned the '2025 Australian Supermarket of the Year' for the eighth year in a row. On Thursday, Canstar Blue unveiled the results of their annual Supermarket Satisfaction Ratings. Aldi earned top marks across the board, including a maximum five stars for 'value for money', 'store layout' and the 'quality' of its own brand products. As of June, Aldi has expanded to 599 stores nationwide and is now the country's third largest supermarket chain behind giants Coles and Woolworths. Coles scored four stars overall, with the supermarket giant earning a modest three stars for 'customer service' and 'checkout experience' but scoring four stars for 'product range'. Woolworths largely mirrored Coles in every category except 'product range', with Woolies receiving the full five stars where its chief rival scored four. IGA supermarkets also scored four stars, largely thanks to the strength of IGA's 'customer service' and 'checkout experience', which both got full marks. Notably, IGA is the only major chain which has not widely rolled out self-service checkouts in its stores. Notoriously, Australia's supermarket 'duopoly' of Coles and Woolworths means Aussie consumers pay some of the highest grocery prices in the OECD. According to Canstar, the average weekly grocery bill for an Australian household of four people has ballooned to $240, a $24 increase from the previous year. The survey, which gathered insights from 2,869 shoppers, highlights the ongoing hip pocket pain facing consumers at the checkout. In a statement, Eden Radford of Canstar Blue told Yahoo Finance that this year's results reflect the power of 'own-brand items' in a tough economic climate. 'The quality of (Aldi's) own-brand items reliably earn the highest rating from customers,' she said. 'Consistently priced, good quality products on offer is why shoppers are choosing Aldi to do their grocery shopping.' Meanwhile, Aldi Australia group director Simon Padovani-Ginies told Yahoo Finance the supermarket was 'over the moon' to once again be crowned the country's favourite supermarket. 'This really shows our Price Promise in action - we won't be beaten on the cost of your weekly shop,' he said. 'Customers know they can rely on us to deliver the best prices without ever compromising on quality.'