Coles has announced it is making further changes to store opening hours in line with the evolving nature of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The supermarket giant has amended its operating hours and introduced several policies in recent weeks in order to ensure Aussies could get their hands of the goods they need to get by.
From restricting the number of items a shopper could purchase, following the panic-buying of items such as toilet roll, pasta and even flour, to introducing specific hours to allow elderly and vulnerable customers to do their shopping without having to come into contact with too many other members of the public, Coles, and other major supermarket chains, have adapted to the current situation.
And now Coles has announced its latest measures, on the journey back to normality, as COO Matt Swindells announced that almost 200 stores would now open their doors one hour earlier at 6am. This is in a bid to help Australians who are juggling drastically different work schedules, home-schooling or those keen to avoid busier shopping times.
He also confirmed that the supermarket’s dedicated Community Hour will also come to an end this week, with the final session taking place on Thursday.
“Our number one priority remains the health and safety of customers and our team members. As the government begins to look at easing restrictions, customers should remember that appropriate safety practices will still apply and ask all customers to support with the same amazing collaboration we’ve seen in the past few weeks,” Swindells said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The reason we started Coles Community Hour was because excess demand led to limited availability, which meant we had lots of people eager to get into stores early in the morning. Having a dedicated shopping hour for some of the most vulnerable members of the community, as well as those working on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic, was really beneficial.
“With supply almost back to normal for essential groceries, Coles is reopening this hour to all customers again as well as opening earlier where we can, to make shopping more convenient for everyone in the community.”
Coles has also relaunched its online orders, meaning customers can once again place grocery orders online, either for delivery or collection in store.
Swindells added: “We’ve doubled our capacity in Coles Online so there is now more opportunity than ever for customers to either have their groceries delivered to their homes or collect them at their convenience.”
The supermarket chain is also implementing additional measures to protect the health of its customers, including introducing sanitisation stations within stores, as well as asking people to be ‘speedy shoppers’, which means planning ahead, shopping alone where possible and packing their own bags.
Proudly Australian owned and operated