Australia's major supermarkets imposed a ban on plastic bags in July, the Australian website reported. In order to understand shoppers' attitudes to the ban, a recent study published by, Canstar Blue after a survey of 3000 shoppers showed that, or because of dissatisfaction with the ban, 20 percent of respondents would steal supermarkets to reuse plastic bags. Young shoppers are more likely to steal plastic bags.
The Canstar Blue survey found that while 80% of respondents usually remember to carry shopping bags and 20% forget to carry them, they think it is "fair" to steal 15 cents of reusable plastic bags each from a self-help checkout counter. This is a "return" to the ban on plastic bags.
Young shoppers are more likely to steal plastic bags. Thirty-three percent of those aged 18 to 29 admitted to stealing plastic bags; only 6 percent of those over the age of 60 admitted to stealing plastic bags.
In addition, 42% of respondents said that carrying their shopping bags is a nuisance. Among those aged 18 to 29, the figure was 51 percent, compared with 34 percent of shoppers over the age of 60.
Simon Downes, editor of, Canstar Blue in response to the survey, said: "the fact that older shoppers are more likely to support the ban is that they carry shopping bags, least likely to steal supermarket plastic bags. In fact, young shoppers find it most difficult to adapt to this change. "
"in the minds of many shoppers, stealing plastic bags is already a fair game," Simon Downes said. They thought,'I shouldn't have spent money on plastic bags'. We learned from previous studies that when people are in a self-service environment, they want something free. Reusable plastic bags are now the latest target for shoppers. Some people think, 'plastic bags are only 15 cents, I won't get into trouble'. "
In addition, Simon Downes said, this puts supermarkets in a "rather awkward position." "if supermarkets are now suing customers for stealing reusable plastic bags, given the strong opposition, it will not work very well," he said.
In response, both Coles and Woolworths admitted that the plastic bag ban affected sales in the first few weeks of the new fiscal year, but Coles's successful "small store" (Little Shop) promotion offset the loss. Meanwhile, Coles and Woolworths declined to say whether they would sue caught shoppers who stole reusable plastic bags.
A spokeswoman for Coles said: "Coles is pleased to see that the vast majority of shoppers bring reusable plastic bags from home. Those who forget to bring shopping bags (funds to buy), Coles bags at supermarkets to sell plastic bags will be used to fund SecondBite,Little Athletics Australia,Guide Dogs Australia and Clean Up Australia. "
So far, Coles has raised enough money to provide more than eight hundred thousand meals through charity SecondBite. Supermarkets have funded Little Athletics Center and Clean Up Australia to buy sports equipment and one hundred thousand pairs of children's gloves. In addition, Coles supermarket also supports Guide Dogs Australia to raise 5 small blind dogs.
In August, Brad Banducci, chief executive of Woolworths Group, told analysts that shoppers' reaction to the ban on plastic bags had surprised supermarkets. Supermarkets take a different approach for the second time. In addition, a spokesman for Woolworths said: "We found that most customers are doing the right thing and they scan everything through the self-checkout desk. At the same time, supermarket team members always assist customers in the self-service area. "
