Don't toss your receipt: Aldi introduces high-tech gates to let shoppers out

Aldi Australia is trialing new security exit gates which open only after customers scan their receipts.

The new security measure is being trialed at Aldi's Northland Shopping Centre in Preston, Victoria.

An Aldi shopper took to Reddit to share their thoughts on the new feature, writing on the Aldi forum: "Aldi Northland have installed gates at the check out, there's a problem though.

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"It's not the same as the other supermarkets, you have to scan your dockets barcode to open the gates to leave.

"These things scan worse than the original Myki readers so you're kinda stuck in the store till they work," they said, adding that during a recent visit they were left "waiting behind others".

"Can't see these models lasting long," they concluded.

"What if you don't buy anything?" one Aldi shopper questioned. "Sometimes I go in to browse the specials and walk out again.

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"I don't always go there with a specific purpose to buy something."

To which another Aldi shopper suggested: "Like Coles and Woolies, just ask the attendant to let you out or just push the gates (if you don't mind some attention on you exiting the store).

"Although Coles and Woolies staff have remotes to open the gates, whereas Aldi would have buttons at every register (imo easier to get someone's attention)."

"You can just push Coles and Woolies open. The alarm goes off but oh well," said another.

"My partner and I experienced this when we visited Scandinavia. Almost all the supermarkets had it. Hated it!" one Redditor said.

"It's not just Scandinavia, I was in Hungary and Italy last August and both had this system," another said.

"Germany too," said another Redditor.

A separate Aldi forum shared a photo of an exit gate being used at an overseas location.

"This is to leave the self check area. I haven't seen it at any other location in my area so that's I asked before if anyone else has it at their Aldi," they said, adding that it "stays open long enough for other people to get through too so kinda pointless".

Nine.com.au understands Aldi is trialing security gates in a small number of stores nationally. In trial stores, shoppers are required to scan their valid receipt produced at the self-checkout to exit the area.

Team members are reportedly available to help guide customers through the process.

Aldi Australia has been contacted for comment.

Aldi is the latest supermarket to trial new security gates, with Coles and Woolworths upgrading their entrance and exit gates over the past few months.

This is due to an increase in retail theft in supermarkets which has reached a five year high. The Australian Bureau of Statistics ABS) recorded 270,000 retail thefts in 2024, up 7 per cent, the highest level in two decades, with a significant portion of this happening in Victoria.

Woolworths CEO Amanda Bardwell reported a 26 per cent rise in violent incidents at supermarkets in the past year.

Coles has also reported an increase in retail theft in supermarket locations across the country.

Woolworths has been trialing new entrance gates at Camberwell in Melbourne, designed to prevent people exiting the store via the entrance gates.

A photo of the new entrance gates were shared on Reddit's Melbourne thread.

A Woolworths spokesperson told nine.com.au the trial is to "explore new ways to respond to increased theft in our supermarkets" which has become a major issue for supermarkets.

"We know the majority of our customers do the right thing, and we thank them for doing so. This is to deter those that don't," they said.

"This new entryway is being trialled at our Camberwell store in Victoria, to test its effectiveness against thieves and how it resonates with others.

"We understand this will take time for local customers to get used to, which is why we'll have a team member at the entrance for a number of weeks to help guide customers."

The spokesperson said customers who use a mobility aid or who are unable to use the entry for any reason can contact a team member who will assist them to use an alternate entry.

"We will carefully assess customer feedback on this trial."

In addition to upgrading their entrance and exit gates, Coles has also been using additional security tags on high-value items such as packaged meats.

These were most recently seen at the Coles Parabanks location in Adelaide. The same security tags have previously appeared at Coles Castle Hill in Sydney.

A Coles spokesperson confirmed to nine.com.au: "While most of our customers do the right thing, unfortunately a small number don't.

"Measures like this ultimately help us deliver better availability for our customers looking for these products.

"We have been working hard to address retail crime and create a safe environment for our team and customers."

These meat security tags need to be removed by staff at the checkout, and are also being used on some of Coles' health and beauty items.

Additional security measures implemented by Coles of late include "CCTV, electronic article surveillance (EAS), security guards and de-escalation training for our team."

Coles supermarkets have also upgraded their entry and exit gates in a further effort to reduce retail theft.

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