Woolworths Metro Go Strawberry Hills

New Store Report: Woolworths Metro Go Strawberry Hills

Woolworths merge ma & pa corner shop with tech-convenience

Report by Carla Bridge, Shop! ANZ


Tucked into a dingy corner up the less frequented end of Sydney’s Elizabeth Street in Strawberry Hills, you’ll find Woolworth’s latest trial – a 50sqm convenience-style ‘Metro Go’ concept revolving around payment using the Woolworths Scan & Go app.

If you’re expecting Woolworth’s latest incarnation to be something modern and flashy, think again. This store is undoubtably the most basic of any Woolworths store you’ve been in despite its tech features, and if it weren’t for the green Woolworths branding in the corners of the store, you could be forgiven for thinking this was the local ma & pa shop corner shop.

Stocking just 640 products, the range includes cold drinks, fruit, ready-made meals, snack options, and other convenience items. The fitout itself is nothing flash, but where the money and focus has been placed is in the tech.

Traditional meets tech!  Tap your mobile, scan your products and go!

The highlight of this tiny store is not in the fitout or product range, but the Scan & Go checkout process. While Scan & Go, an app linked to the Woolworths Everyday loyalty card which allows shoppers to check out by tapping their mobile phone, is available in five other Sydney CBD stores, the Strawberry Hills store is the first to let shoppers scan their own takeaway coffee order with the app.

According the staff in the store, this is a much appreciated convenience for busy workers dashing in to pick up a coffee on the way to work. Instead of waiting at the counter to leave your order with a member of staff, customers use the Scan & Go app to scan their desired size of coffee, before picking it up at the take away window.

Coffee appears to be the hero product in this hole in the wall store, with other items stocked serving as ad-on purchases. To use the Scan & Go checkout system to purchase other products, an item’s barcode is scanned, and at the counter is tapped with your phone to complete the transaction.

Simplify your coffee purchase with Woolworths Scan & Go technology.

Cash is still accepted instore, but when it comes to a study of shopper behaviour, it appears its main shoppers are early adopters of the Scan & Go technology, with around half of all transactions completed via Scan & Go, making the customer experience as seamless and fuss free as possible.

Beyond the inside of the store, a small courtyard featuring prominent Woolworths branding and marketing is available to sit and consume products purchased from the Metro Go store.

MetroGo extends beyond the store offering a community courtyard to enjoy purchases or catch up on emails.

Report written by Shop! ANZ

Would you like to download all of the 20 photos from the store visit? Members have access to Shop! ANZ store photos.

Email carla@shopassociation.or.au

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