Here you can post your reasons why or why not to buy at Woolworths. Remember to keep the discussion about evidence based reason, though opinion is welcome as long as it remains within Community standards regarding civility.
Where I live Woolies (Safeway in the old days) had a model of standalone supermarkets or be the main place in a strip shopping centre.
So typically, I can park right outside, or on a hot day, directly underneath. Perfect for a quick shop on the way to or from somewhere.
All the Coles I know of are located in major shopping centres that usually mean parking nightmare and would only visit if going to other shops in the centre.
1 Like
Like @Gregr, Iām influenced by the relative convenience and simplicity of getting to, into, and out of the supermarket.
I often shop at the Woolies Metro in a local suburban āstripā shopping centre nearby because itās easy to get to, to park, to go into and out of the shop, and it usually has most of what Iām after.
I havenāt noticed its prices being significantly different from those in larger supermarkets, either. The big ones do have a wider range of brands and package sizes.
Thereās a full-sized Woolworths supermarket not much farther away, but in a large enclosed multi-level shopping mall with multi-level parking. Far more trouble than Iām willing to go to! I would never grocery shop there. I go to the large Woolies (or Coles) in two smaller and far more convenient surburban malls a bit farther away.
1 Like
We donāt have much choice as we only have one supermarket within 17.2 km of us, which is an IGA. An alternative larger supermarket (Coles) is about 50km away. This means we donāt have much competition for things in our shopping basket and need to use Woollies for our staples. For fruit and vege, Asian/international groceries, some cheeses, honey and meat, we use local outlets or independent shopkeepers which are local or in the nearby bigger centres when we are visiting for some reason (medical check-ups, shopping for appliances/clothing etc). We also grow seasonal fruit and veges in the garden as well.
We also donāt buy a lot of things from Woollies and will but these from Coles and the quality of better. This is particularly store branded cleaning products which we find the ārecipeā change regularlyā¦and recent changes to Woolworthās ones hasnāt been for the better as we feel performance/quality has deteriorated.
We also find our local (full sized) Woollies quality of some produce and selection of available items isnāt as good a Woollies in nearby centres. This is often the subject of discussion with other locals and it is believed that it is because there is no competition, it is a regional area where general food tastes might be more conservative and possibly poor store management.
4 Likes
Elthamites (?) understand your pain. The ranges at our local Woolies have diminished over time. Some advertised catalogue items as well as numerous staples we bought over the years disappear locally while still being stocked at numerous surrounding Woolies stores. Fortunately we have a number of them within a 10km radius so if we really really want the product, and neither Coles nor Aldi has it or an acceptable equivalent, it is not too serious an impost.
I put it down to the value of shelf space and moving enough product to satisfy the ālust for enough profitsā rather than ājust profitsā. Shoppers in Eltham Town were not providing the required profit for those items so off they went. More often than not an existing line takes over the shelf space so it is not a case of rotating products in and out.
With a Coles across the street to one side and Aldi across on the other it doesnāt seem driven by competition, just what consumers will tolerate.
Our next closest Woolies does not have close-by competition and always has better ranges and usually fresher than ours in Eltham. Makes little sense, but.
2 Likes
I do the bulk of my fresh food shopping at a local kind of consortium where thereās a butcher, a fishmonger, a deli, a baker and a greengrocer all under one roof. All independents. The rest is from Woolworths, only because there isnāt a Coles handy and the local IGA has no real parking. I certainly have no loyalty or preference for Woolworths beyond proximity and convenience.
3 Likes
Port Phillip: an area of 1,930 Km2 and a population of 103,514 is well catered for by the two big supermarkets Coles and Woolies.
You canāt step out of your front door without stumbling into one or the other, often located side by side or on the opposite side of the same street.
I usually shop at Woolies not far from my home.
The variety of stock available is amazing. Local and Imported.
The regular āspecialsā discounted from 30% to 50% mean big savings throughout the year.
Ample parking, first hour free, gives plenty of time to shop and payment after that assures that theres always a free parking spot by eliminating non-shoppers leaving the car parked there all day. When it was free all day, people would leave the car and walk with the kids to Luna Park and/or going for lunch/coffee and you had to fight for a spot when you went shopping.
By now I know what I want, Iām brand loyal because i can be sure of the constancy of the product. Might get a store brand product occasionally but hate the way that it varies in taste and quality and I might regret that second purchase.
Assistants are friendly, if asked where a certain item is they will cheerfully walk with you to the right spot.
Thereās a choice of assisted or self-service machines and thereās always someone present in case of a problem with the machines.
Canāt think of a reason not to shop there.
6 Likes
I use Woolworths because weāre in a regional area and the local one delivers reliably. Drivers are polite, goods are as expected, and substitutions are always for equal or better quality. Any glitch or complaint or missing items are refunded without question. I just do the online chat, and once or twice have been asked to upload a photo.
Recently, though, I ordered some cherries (without even thinking about how out-of-season they were), and the website ad said Grown in Australia. When they arrived, the tag said Grown in the USA.
I went back to the website and saw the colourful icon is still there, saying Grown in Australia. But - if I click the View More button, a long script appears where it says they use other suppliers, yada yada yada, and then Where itās grown: United States of America.
So I wrote to them, with screenshots, asking them to remove the Australia label, and their bot answered (I assume a bot - it was so poorly worded) with the same yada, yada, yada and sorry for confusing me.
The ad is still online. Cherries Red 300g Punnet | Woolworths
2 Likes
Bots usually (not always 
) will connect one to a human inside business hours by entering something like āconnect me to an agentā. Each bot has trigger words to hand off to a human, but some of the worst will not do that unless you can hopelessly confuse them; even then some will just go in another few rotations of their circle.
As it seems at least superficially misleading as presented on their web site it may be worth your time to get the bot to refer you, or to lodge a formal complaint.
Note there are phone numbers as well as their chat (bot) links, to their credit, so one is not only reliant on their bot.
1 Like
I do my grocery shopping at Woolworths due to its very convenient location, but do my vegetable shopping at āSpud Shedā (WA) because it is usually half the price of Woolworths. Example, tomatoes in Woolworths $10 k. Spud shed $4.50 k. A typical difference between the two stores. I buy my cleaning products from Aldi, I donāt need to go there very often, on Choices recommendation.
2 Likes
Thanks, Phil. I should have explained that I did contact them on their online Feedback form, where I could write as much as I wanted, and I uploaded the screenshots.
They emailed me a reply a few days later, which I quoted here. I think that my comment probably just went from one chatbot to another .
I use āOliveā the online chatbot for missing items, damage, etc, and I have had a few things āescalatedā from there (like when there was a piece of wire in a sausage!) and I was asked for photos.
Iāll think about escalating this further. I think itās misleading advertising to keep the Grown in Australia label on the product page. On a mobile, you canāt even see the faint begining of the faint top part of the line about international relationships.
Thanks for the advice.
2 Likes
A āwhy toā is that Woolies gift cards can be purchased at a discount (up to 5%, 3~4% being common) from multiple card issuers and membership organisations. Used to buy groceries that is a saving up front. it is very slightly offset by losing interest on the amount purchased until the funds are used, probably only a few cents.
1 Like
About 15-20 years ago I watched a documentary on SBS about how Coles and Woolworths were treating their suppliers. Growing up on a farm as I did, I was incensed. I am willing (and able) to pay a bit more for my fruit and veg to support local farmers and grocers.
I choose to shop at the IGA because I believe they treat their suppliers better, I believe I am helping keep independents viable and the shopping centre carpark is very poorly designed, making parking a trial.
I switched to my local IGA (then to another, then another, as they closed down). I used to shop at a group of co-located independents (fruit/veg, deli & butcher) which had very good quality goods (at a slightly increased price), but the fruit/veg store recently changed hands and the quality of the produce plummeted (but not the prices). I still get most of my meat at this butcher. I very occasionally get a couple of items at my nearest Colesworth, but only when I am at the shopping centre for some other reason and even then, I really mull over whether I want to give them my money or wait until I do a larger shop at my IGA.
2 Likes
I prefer to shop at Woolies, itās within walking distance, so itās convenient.
Thereās an Aldi next door that i also visit.
Most of my Woolies shop consists of specials and Iāll often go to Aldi 1st see what theyāve got and compare to Woolies via the Woolies app. There are some items i only buy from Woolies and some i only buy at Aldi.
I always visit independent butcher, poultry and deli.
My closest Coles is a 5 minute car trip where i have the choice of Coles, Coles & Aldi (yep 2 Coles under the one roof - 1 is often referred to as the s**t Coles 
and its debatable which is which). Parking is not as friendly here, so i donāt go very often - monthly if lucky and it will be on my way home from somewhere.
2 Likes
2 Likes
I have to use home delivery only (so glad to have the option as I love to eat!) in the past three years I have used IGA, Coles and Woolworths, the later is by far my first option, I have had a couple of glitches here and there, however it is easy to rectify any problems, the quality of the goods on arrival is good, drivers excellent etc., so I will not be changing my option anytime soon.
1 Like
I live a few minutes drive from Hornsby Westfield which has a Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and an independent green grocer. I welcomed Aldi putting some pressure on the Colesworth monopoly and I think they did initially. I still buy most of my stuff from Aldi but more recently noticed they price their fresh produce closer to Colesworth than the independent green grocer. I have bought specials from their centre isle too but they seem to have become less value too. I would love another supermarket to enter the market and regret Lidl or a similar chain didnāt come.
I live in a country town which has Woollies, Aldi (the most recent added in last 8 years) and IGA. A lot for a small town but we are also a tourist town. I disliked the way Woollies treated its suppliers and im aware the other larger supermarkets arent much better but I shop at IGA.
They have a diversity of employees and best of all, they donāt have self checkouts. They also, often, have local products on their shelves.
1 Like
There was speculation about 10 years ago that the Schwarz Gruppe (Lidl and Kaufland supermarket chains) were entering the Australian market.
There was information the group was land banking in anticipation of warehouse and store construction. They also commenced gaining trademarks and approvals to operate in Australia.
In the early stages of investigating possibly of entering the Australian market, information they released was extremely optimistic. This might have been done for marketing purposes (or possibly for business reasons such as to secure finance).
Kaufland and Lidl came out a few years later stating they had pulled any plans they might otherwise had to expand into Australia.
Insiders to Lidl/Kaufland came out to state there wasnāt enough demand in the Australian market for another major supermarket chain.
Another reason Lidl/Kaufland pulled the pin is outlined by IBISWorld notes in its 2014-2019 analysis of trends. That being in Australia āThe Supermarkets and Grocery Stores industry is one of the most fiercely competitive industries in Australia.ā For a new entrant to enter the market is very challenging and expensive to gain market share, often for little return.
2 Likes
Our nearest Coles and Aldi are 81km away. That leaves Woolworths and IGA in my nearest town. Woolworths has the cheaper fruit and vegetables compared to IGA. I cook most of our meals from scratch and so this is important for us. Therefore, i mostly shop at Woolworths. Except when i want radishes as Woollies wonāt keep them in stock as they claim that they donāt sell enough. When i buy radishes at IGA I buy other things to reward them for having the radishes, but it costs.
The staff at Woolworths are very helpful and generally have a pleasant manner. I think that their training program must be very good. Through the years i have seen local surly teenagers become excellent at customer service.
2 Likes
