Woolworths is the latest company to introduce a QR code tracing system in its stores.
The retailer is trialling the voluntary contact tracing solution in 11 of its Victorian stores and one Woolworths Metro store in NSW.
The system, widely used in cafes and restaurants, works by customers using the camera on their smartphone to scan a code on entry to the store, which links to a website where they can enter their name and contact details.
Woolworths has assured customers the data, which is encrypted, will only be used for tracing purposes, should a positive case be linked to the store.
Woolworths Supermarkets General Manager for Victoria Andrew Hall said the trail was to aid and speed up contact tracing.
“Contact tracing is an essential step in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and we want to do our bit to support the broader public health effort,” Mr Hall said.
“While checking in and sharing contact details will be voluntary for our customers, we encourage shoppers to make use of it in our trial stores.
“Doing so will enable health authorities to make rapid contact with potentially impacted customers in the event of a confirmed case of COVID-19 in our stores.”
The retailer is already using Q-Tracker, a tool which uses real time data to inform customers about customer numbers in stores, as well as a ‘book to shop’ function across 40 stores, where customers can bypass any entry queues due to in-store customer caps for social disancing.
“More than 35,000 of our customers have already made use of Q-Tracker to plan their shop and hundreds have booked in shopping times at our trial stores.
“Based on the positive feedback from customers, we’ve expanded the booking function to a further 40 Melbourne stores.
“We’ll continue to look for new and innovative ways to build on our existing COVIDSafe protocols and procedures to ensure they’re as robust as they can be.