Coles scrapped its 15-cent bag fee under 'bag rage' — and got mocked for caving instead

Australia's two biggest supermarket chains removed free single-use plastic bags from stores in late June 2018 as part of a national waste-reduction push — retailers face fines for supplying single-use bags in all but two states — and sold reusable ones for 15 Australian cents. The change triggered 'bag rage': customers angry at bringing their own sacks or paying the fee abused checkout staff and vented on social media, and the union representing store workers launched a public campaign.

Woolworths held, levying 15 cents a bag from 8 July. Coles — owned by Wesfarmers, and under pressure as its sales growth lagged Woolworths' just as Wesfarmers prepared to spin it out and list it separately — had planned to reintroduce its fee on 12 July, never levied it, and on 1 August extended the waiver indefinitely, even offering complimentary reusable bags. 'Some customers told us they needed more time to make the transition to reusable bags,' the company said, calling the waiver 'still intended to be an interim measure' with no date for resuming the fee.

The backflip aimed at customer satisfaction but backfired: 'Coles' colossal plastic bag fail' and 'Coles caves' ran across Australia's main news sites. CommSec market analyst James Tao said the financial impact was probably negligible — 'It's more about the PR side' — yet Coles was lampooned online for caving.

The fee never returned; Coles gave reusable bags away free indefinitely and ate the PR damage of 'Coles caves' headlines and online lampooning.

The policy ignored its human cost: checkout staff absorbed the anger, and the union amplified it into a public campaign.

Caving set the precedent customers remember — Woolworths held the fee and didn't become the story.

Timing maximised the damage: caving while lagging Woolworths and heading for a spin-off read as weakness, not kindness.

A policy flip under customer pressure doesn't buy goodwill from either side: the customers who raged take the concession, and everyone else sees a company that folds.

Coles kept the waiver open-ended, saying only that it would 'assess when customers have become accustomed to bringing their own bags'. The material records no later resumption of the fee.