Woolworths has announced major changes to its fresh service counters and its normal trading hours in selected stores across Australia.
The supermarket giant has adjusted trading hours for its meat, seafood and deli departments to accommodate a “shift in consumer behaviour” which saw fewer customers early in the morning and late at night.
“Customers can still purchase similar products, such as chicken breast fillets and salmon, within our packed Fresh Convenience range located in-store,” a Woolworths spokesperson said.
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The fresh service deli will now trade from 7am to 8pm Monday to Sunday in selected stores across the country.
The seafood and meat counters will now trade from 9:30am to 7pm on weekdays and 9am to 7pm on weekends.
A handful of stores will still operate longer fresh service hours due to high customer demand in those areas.
It is understood hot roast chickens will still be available, even after close.
Woolworths has also made changes to its normal trading hours in a handful of stores nationwide in a move to offer “consistent customer experience.”
The spokesperson confirmed that selected stores would open one hour later or close one hour earlier.
“We’ve also moved to standardize our overall operating hours so we can offer a consistent customer experience across our store network,” the spokesperson said.
“Select stores across the country will open one hour later or close one hour earlier to align with other stores and better match customer shopping patterns.
“We’ll closely monitor customer and team member feedback over the next few months.”
At the front of each Woolworths and within the store, signage has been posted to notify customers of the altered trading hours.
Customers are encouraged to check the opening and closing hours of their local Woolworths by visiting woolworths.com.au/stores.
The initiative was first trialled in a handful of New South Wales stores in May.
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