Live feed

Below are the most recent updates from Coles on the impact of COVID-19.

7 September 2020

Update from our CEO

As we enter Spring we hope you, your family and friends are safe and coping with the COVID changes we are all experiencing day to day.

COVIDSafe stores and online services

In all our stores, our focus is ensuring you can be COVIDSafe when shopping with us. Sanitisation Stations are now in all our supermarkets stocked with hand sanitiser, and wipes for baskets and trolleys. We have checkout sneeze screens, tap & go payments, and don’t forget our quick Coles Speedy Shopper guide for safer shopping. 

We’ve also been focusing on expanding our contactless online shopping services as quickly as possible. We’ve opened over 80 new home delivery and Click&Collect store services in the last month, as lots of our customers look to make their weekly shop as convenient as possible. All our online shopping services are contactless, with home delivery orders dropped at your door or Click&Collect orders available at the customer service desk in our stores, delivered to Coles Express lockers, or to the boot of your car with our Concierge service. 

You can check here to see which services your local store offers. 

The Big Red Hand celebrates 10 years of lowering the cost of shopping

We can’t quite believe that we’re celebrating 10 years of ‘Down Downs’ and the Big Red Hand that you see all across our stores and in our advertising. Most Aussies can recall our ‘Down Down, prices are Down’ jingle and we’ve now cut the price of another 190 products by up to 45%. You can check out all our latest spring offers in-store, online or in our digital catalogue every week.

coles&co – the digital future with ½ price specials plus inspiring recipes for breakfast, lunch & dinner 

Lisa Hudson has joined us to be the editor of coles&co, and will be adding new updates every day, whether that’s recipes using the specials on the front page of our catalogue, tips on what’s in season with our 100% Aussie fruit and veg, dinner hacks from our favourite Aussie chefs including Curtis Stone, or stories from local farmers and suppliers that we proudly work with in every state.

You can check out coles&co here. 

What’s changing at home?

Home shopping is becoming increasingly significant with sales up more than 100% in Victoria, as is scratch cooking - inspired by the Coles sponsored Masterchef and Plate of Origin. Veggie sales, ice cream and home cooking ingredients like flour are up 20%, and coffee capsules and cleaning products are up 30%, as we all focus more on hygiene. On the fall are beauty products as we spend more time at home, and facial tissues as there is less cold and flu about. If we are seeing more home cooks, with pubs still restricted, we are also seeing the rise of the home “happy hour” with Gin sales up 80%, and Rose wine and craft beer up 30%. No alcohol drinks are also proving a very popular alternative - up 170%!

10 August 2020

Purchase limits removed on masks

Coles has removed the single-pack purchase limits on face masks from all stores nationally.

We will continue to monitor stock levels to help maintain availability of essential products for our customers.

3 AUGUST 2020

Masks recommended in NSW stores

As we continue to prioritise the health and safety of our customers and team members, Coles is in regular contact with government health authorities to ensure we are taking all recommended steps to reduce the risk of COVID transmission.

The NSW Chief Health Officer has now recommended the use of face masks for NSW residents in indoor settings where physical distancing is hard to maintain, including while shopping in supermarkets.

In line with this advice, Coles is providing masks for our NSW team members and we encourage customers to wear a mask while in our NSW stores.

The Chief Health Officer has confirmed that staying home and getting tested if you are unwell, physical distancing, and regular hand-washing are still the best defence against COVID.

We also ask that customers continue to shop safely by:

• Using the sanitising station at the store entrance
• Maintaining physical distancing while in the store
• Shopping alone if possible
• Planning your visit with the Coles App so you can complete your shopping quickly
• Paying by card and using tap-and-go
• Not visiting stores if you are feeling unwell, even if you are wearing a mask

Customers can also shop online with contactless Click&Collect, or contactless home delivery which delivers to your front door.

Our team members have safely served more than 350 million customers since the pandemic began, and we thank customers for treating them with respect as they work hard to provide a safer shopping experience.

Coles will continue to work with State and Federal Government health experts to implement any further safety measures they recommend.

2 august 2020

Stage 4 restrictions - metro Melbourne 

With today’s announcement from the Victorian Government on new Stage 4 restrictions for metropolitan Melbourne, we wanted to let you know as quickly as possible what that means when visiting our stores in this area. The health and safety of our customers, team members and communities remains our top priority.

Be a Coles Speedy Shopper

In line with the curfew requirements, we ask that you shop alone wherever possible and visit our stores no more than once per day. We encourage you to be Coles Speedy Shoppers, including using our Coles product finder app to make your visit as easy as possible.

We ask that you continue to tightly adhere to social distancing guidelines, wash or sanitise your hands before you come into store, use contactless payment wherever you can, remember to avoid touching your face (with or without a mask) and cough and sneeze into a tissue or your elbow.

It’s important that you don’t come into a store if you feel unwell, should be in mandatory isolation or have been in contact with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19. All our Victorian team members have also been asked to not come to work if they feel unwell.

Have you tried our contactless Click&Collect and Home Delivery online services?

We know how increasingly important contactless shopping services are during lockdown, so we continue to increase capacity in our contactless Click&Collect or Home Delivery options.  Contactless Click&Collect means you can order from our website and pick up your shopping from either a locker or have it delivered to the boot of your car. If you choose contactless Home Delivery, your shopping will be delivered to your front door.

If you’ve never shopped online with us before, we’ve created a step-by-step guide and video to make it as easy as possible.  To find out which online shopping services are available in your area, please click here.

You’ll always find the latest information at coles.com.au, and we’ll email updates over the coming days around our store and community services. Thank you for treating our team members with patience and respect, together we’ll get through this!

31 JULY 2020

Wearing face coverings in our stores

With Thursday’s announcement from the Victorian Government that all Victorians are now required to wear face coverings when leaving home, we know some of you are wondering what that means when visiting our stores. The health and safety of our customers, team members and communities remains our top priority, just as it always has been.

The Victorian Government has updated its advice on the use of face coverings to the following: “The Chief Health Officer states that people living in Victoria are required to wear a face covering from 11.59pm on Sunday 2 August when leaving their home, unless a lawful exception applies.”

To ensure we are following government guidelines, we expect all customers to be wearing a face covering in our stores, unless a lawful exception applies to you. Masks have also become compulsory for our team members, unless they too have an exception.  

For more information visit the Victoria Department of Health and Human Services Coronavirus (COVID-19) page at https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus

A safe shopping experience remains our top priority

Each of our stores has a number of measures in place for everyone’s ongoing safety, including social distancing, enhanced cleaning and hygiene practices, and sanitisation stations at the entrance of every store. We ask that you continue to tightly adhere to social distancing guidelines, wash or sanitise your hands before you come into store, use contactless payment wherever you can, remember to avoid touching your face (with or without a mask) and cough and sneeze into a tissue or your elbow. 

It’s important that you don’t come into a store if you feel unwell, should be in mandatory isolation or have been in contact with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19. All our Victorian team members have also been asked to not come to work if they feel unwell. 

We also encourage you to be Coles Speedy Shoppers, including using our Coles product finder app.  

Have you tried our contactless Click&Collect and Home Delivery online services?

We know how increasingly important contactless shopping services are during lockdown, so we have continued to increase capacity in our contactless Click&Collect or Home Delivery options. Contactless Click&Collect means you can order from our website and pick up your shopping from either a locker or have it delivered to the boot of your car. If you choose contactless Home Delivery, your shopping will be delivered to your front door.

If you’ve never shopped online with us before, we’ve created a step-by-step guide and video to make it as easy as possible. To find out which online shopping services are available in your area, please click here.

Please continue to treat our team members with respect, we can get through this together.

23 JULY 2020

Working together to keep all Victorians safe - wearing face coverings in our stores

To all our customers,

The recent spread of cases in Victoria, subsequent lockdown and statement on face coverings are unfortunate reminders that we all continue to live with COVID-19.

For all Australian supermarkets, the safety and wellbeing of our customers, teams and communities remains our top priority, just as it always has been. The Victorian Government has updated its advice on the use of face coverings to the following:  “The Chief Health Officer states that people living in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire are required to wear a face covering from 11.59pm on Wednesday 22 July when leaving their home, unless a lawful exception applies.”

To ensure we are following government guidelines, we expect all customers to be wearing a face covering in our stores, unless a lawful exception applies to you. Masks have also become compulsory for our team members, unless they too have an exception.

Each of our stores has a number of measures in place for everyone’s ongoing safety, including social distancing and enhanced cleaning and hygiene practices. We ask that you continue to tightly adhere to social distancing guidelines, wash or sanitise your hands before you come into store, use contactless payment wherever you can, remember to avoid touching your face (with or without a mask) and cough and sneeze into a tissue or your elbow.

Finally, it’s important that you don’t come into a store if you feel unwell, should be in mandatory isolation or have been in contact with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19. All our Victorian team members have also been asked to not come to work if they feel unwell.

Please continue to treat our teams with the respect and courtesy they all deserve. We thank you for your ongoing patience and support as together we do all we can to keep our communities safe.

1 May 2020

The COVIDSafe app

Coles is encouraging all customers and team members to download the Health Department’s COVIDSafe app. The app is only designed to alert users if they have had close contact (15 minutes or more within 1.5 metres) with another person who tests positive for COVID-19.

We have now completed more than 100 million customer transactions since the outbreak of COVID-19 and whilst Supermarkets adhering to the Government’s social distancing guidelines are considered low risk, we believe the app will provide an even safer environment by allowing any potential exposure situations to be identified and managed as quickly as possible. You can read more about the app here.

31 March 2020

Coles credit card, personal loans and insurance

To find out more about the impact of COVID-19 on your Coles credit card, personal loan or insurance policy including changes to our contact centres click here.