Woolworths’ new fight to protect commercial property sector

Woolworths Camberwell is testing the new security gate.

Supermarket giant Woolworths is the latest major retailer to test beefed up security in Victoria, with its latest addition attracting the ire of shoppers and disability advocates.

New security gates installed at Woolworths Camberwell, in Melbourne, feature multiple arms shoppers are required to push through to gain entry to the supermarket.

It is the latest in a raft of new measures being rolled out across Victoria, with Coles recently announcing its own security trials via weighted shelves and locked cabinetry.

The trials at both major supermarkets comes as rising rates of theft in the Australian retail sector become growing concerns for the stability of the country’s commercial property market.

At Woolworths Camberwell, the gate’s arms open in one direction only and are designed to reduce theft by stopping people exiting the store through the entry where staff are not traditionally stationed.

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The new gates being trialed by Woolworths.

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The response to the new gates on social media has been swift, with one person calling the feature “a ninja warrior obstacle course”, and disability advocates have also slammed the set-up.

Melbourne-based disability advocate Zoe Simmons told Yahoo News the new gates would cause issues for many.

“It does really annoy me when stores put things into place, but don’t consider how disabled people — and anyone else who needs accessibility — will be impacted,” she said.

“I can’t imagine mums would like their babies potentially getting whacked with those things.”

A Woolworths spokesman said the gates were a trial only and community feedback would be taken into account.

WHY RETAIL GIANTS ARE CRACKING DOWN

Shop closures as a result of ongoing theft and revenue loss can have a cascading effect on local communities, reducing foot traffic, depressing nearby property values, and creating a sense of economic decline.

For landlords, the prospect of losing tenants amid rising retail crime is a growing concern, particularly in Victoria, which has become the epicentre of the problem.

Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that retail crime in Victoria reached a 21-year high in 2023, with 169,673 victims of personal and retail theft recorded in 2024 – a staggering 29 per cent increase from the previous year.

High-value supermarket items like baby formula, meat and cosmetics are where Coles is using its new measures at Melbourne’s Highpoint West store.

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Coles is rolling out new security technology to combat theft. Picture: Nine

Weight-measuring shelves at the test site now house tins of baby formula where an alarm is triggered if too many items are removed at once, alerting staff to investigate.

“If a customer takes one item that’s a normal transaction, but if someone wants to what we call ‘sweep’ and take a large quantity in one go, [a bell rings],” Coles chief operations and supply chain manager Matt Swindells told 9 News.

“It could be a customer who wants to buy a large quantity of meat, which we’re delighted about, but more often than not though it’s not, and so there’s an intervention.”

Cosmetics at Coles Highpoint West are now stored in locked cabinets which staff can open remotely after viewing CCTV of the appropriate aisle.

The two new test measures join beefed up security already in place at many Coles stores, including smart gates at check-outs to stop customers leaving if they haven’t paid for their items, and voice messages playing in stores that remind customers they are under CCTV surveillance.