Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles will reward customers who bring their own reusable shopping bags.
Coles announced on Friday it would reward customers who brought their own bags with Flybuys points to promote a smooth transition away from single-use plastic bags.
The announcement comes two weeks after Coles and Woolworths implemented the controversial ban on single-use plastic bags.
Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles will reward customers who bring their own reusable shopping bags (stock image)
Coles announced on Friday it would reward customers who brought their own bags with Flybuys points to promote a smooth transition away from single-use plastic bags
Woolworths also announced it would reward customers who brought their own bags
The move prompted mass frustration from customers who complained it was inconvenient and expensive.
Coles said it would offer Flybuys points to its customers from Tuesday next week.
Customers who bring their own bags will be able to scan their Flybuy rewards card at the checkout and earn up to 30 points a day.
Coles said it was a way of thanking its customers for their support throughout the transition period away from plastic.
Woolworths also announced it would reward customers who brought their own bags.
Adopting the scheme from Saturday, the supermarket will offer customers Woolworths Rewards points if they bring their own bags rather than relying on plastic.
Two weeks after supermarkets introduced the controversial ban on single-use plastic bags, Coles has revealed even more changes are in the works (stock image)
The supermarkets are desperately working to regain customer satisfaction after the plastic bag ban attracted wild dissatisfaction on July 1.
The rewards program comes after Coles announced it would also redesign its checkouts to better accommodate the new reusable bags.
‘Coles is currently putting in custom-designed frames that are easier for customers and our team, and we expect to have this completed in the coming weeks,’ a spokeswoman said.
Coles said the new design, introduced within weeks, would be fitted in stores nation-wide.
Despite national backlash over the bag ban, the spokeswoman said Coles was ‘delighted with the level of support received from the community’.
Coles told Daily Mail Australia it was redesigning its checkouts to better accommodate the new bags (stock image)
Woolworths said it had no current plans to change its checkouts but told News.com.au it was always working to improve its services.
Customer Winona Tuala said change at the self-serve checkouts was necessary because the current design simply didn’t work.
‘There is not enough space, there needs to be more room,’ she told the publication.
Marlon Aronowitz agreed, saying: ‘They need to make it house the different reusable bags. It doesn’t have to necessarily be a big space, but the current design has bags falling over. It’s not fit for different bags’.
Customer backlash was overwhelming when the ban was initially introduced at the beginning of the month, with employees copping the brunt of frustrations.
A male customer in the self-serve area swore loudly at a female worker this month and forced her to provide him with free bags, according to the workers union.
When the customer scanned the same item twice, he became so enraged he physically assaulted the employee.
‘He walked up behind her andput his hands around her throat,’ the union told the Australian Federal Police.
Other customers were left so angry at the checkout they threw their groceries on the floor and left.
‘In some cases, customers have attempted to use bags which contained vomit, dirty nappies or rat faeces. This is obviously unacceptable and presents a serious health risk to retail staff,’ the union said.