Advertisement

Woolworths customer outraged by display - can you see why?

A Woolworths customer has expressed her concerns about product placement at her local store.

The customer, who is from Brisbane, addressed a post to Woolworths’s Facebook page over the weekend.

“Hey Woolies, why would you put matches, lighters and other related products right next to kids toys?” the post says.

Accompanying the post is a photograph of adjoining stocked shelves in a single aisle.

On the lefthand side of the shelf are children’s toys, including bubbles, toy cars and lego. To the right there are matches, lighters, barbecue cleaning products, and a pair of barbecue shears on the shelf.

Toys and matches sold alongside one another on a supermarket shelf.
The customer expressed concerns for children after noticing toys were being sold alongside dangerous items. Source: Facebook

Woolworths shoppers divided over display outrage

A woman’s post has divided shoppers with not everyone agreeing with her view.

“Do parents not watch their kids these days?” asked one woman.

The original poster hit back, claiming that it is the store’s responsibility to ensure the shelves are stocked appropriately.

“Parents aren’t always watching as much as they try to, it is up to the businesses to keep all patrons safe,” she said.

The person who commented then responded that it is actually the parents' responsibility to ensure their children do not touch dangerous items.

Customers walk out of the front of a Woolworths store with trolleys.
People in the comments debated who was responsible for protecting children from dangerous goods. Source: Getty Images

“Then we can put cigarettes and alcohol on the shelves [and] we can put garden poisons in the food section since safety is up to everyone,” the poster shot back.

“Alcohol is on shelves and is sold in the grocery department throughout most of the world, cigarettes are age restricted, and garden poisons are easily reachable by children because once again it’s up to parents,” the commenter hit back.

“Either way they’re not changing their store design for this.”

Woolworths had not responded to the customer's concerns online at the time of publication.

Supermarkets have also recently come under fire on social media with messy stores dividing opinion, and customers claiming they have received rotting food in their home deliveries.

Woolworths dangerous goods policies

Yahoo News Australia understands that these toys and matches are rarely displayed next to each other in Woolworths stores.

Woolworths’s shopping terms and conditions state that there are restrictions in place whereby minors are not permitted to purchase certain items - one of which is pictured in the customer’s post.

“If you are under 18 years of age, you may not use the site to place an order for sharp objects such as knives, blades, saws or any related sharp objects,” the policy states.

The Woolworths online store includes product warnings on lighters and matches, stating “keep out of reach of children.”

Yahoo News reached out to Woolworths seeking clarification on shelf stocking procedures and policies regarding where children’s items are positioned on the shelves. Woolworths was also asked to comment on the customer's concerns.

Woolworths did not wish to provide a comment answering these questions.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.