Bags feeding ‘bad habit’
Coles caving to pressure from ‘bully’ shoppers
COLES’ decision to continue handing out 15-cent reusable plastic bags to customers for free is “encouraging bad habits” and caving to pressure from “bully” shoppers, according to experts.
The supermarket chain said yesterday it would keep offering the heavy-duty plastic bags free of charge for the foresee- able future because customers “need more time” to adjust.
Coles first announced it would give away the complimentary bags last Thursday with the offer running until Sunday, matching Woolworths’ policy announced the previous week.
But after complaints from shoppers fuelling “plastic bag rage” this week, it said its customers were “telling us they need more time to make the adjustment to reusable bags”.
“It’s important to remember that this change was only implemented at the start of the month and many customers bringing bags from home can still find themselves short a bag or two,” a spokesman said.
“Over time, we expect our customers to know exactly how many bags they will need for their shop.”
But marketing and consumer behaviour expert Rohan Miller said extending the offer was “encouraging bad habits” in letting shoppers perpetuate a “really sad environmental trend”.
“It’s pretty insipid when you consider the environmental damage the bags are doing relating to the tonnes of plastics that are scattered throughout the oceans — it’s causing untold damage,” said Dr Mil- ler, from the University of Sydney’s business school.
He said he also doubted customers would reuse the bags “given they can’t be bothered bringing a bag in now”.
“All we’re doing is letting a few shoppers bully society and it’s unsatisfactory,” he said.
Coles said it would “continue to assess feedback from our customers and team members” but did not specify when the free bag offer would end.