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Woolworths' Apple Watch app brings shopping lists to your wrist

When the Apple Watch arrives in Australia, Woolworths customers will be able to use the wearable to organise their shopping without having to fumble for their phone.

Claire Reilly Former Principal Video Producer
Claire Reilly was a video host, journalist and producer covering all things space, futurism, science and culture. Whether she's covering breaking news, explaining complex science topics or exploring the weirder sides of tech culture, Claire gets to the heart of why technology matters to everyone. She's been a regular commentator on broadcast news, and in her spare time, she's a cabaret enthusiast, Simpsons aficionado and closet country music lover. She originally hails from Sydney but now calls San Francisco home.
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  • Webby Award Winner (Best Video Host, 2021), Webby Nominee (Podcasts, 2021), Gold Telly (Documentary Series, 2021), Silver Telly (Video Writing, 2021), W3 Award (Best Host, 2020), Australian IT Journalism Awards (Best Journalist, Best News Journalist 2017)
Claire Reilly
2 min read

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Woolworths' new app brings grocery lists to the Apple Watch. Woolworths

After a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of the Woolworths logo appeared at Apple's most recent product event, the grocery chain has revealed the details of its new Apple Watch app -- set to be one of the first local apps available on the device after its April 24 launch.

Woolworths has long been a player in the app game, with an app for iOS and Android devices that allows shoppers to set up shopping lists by adding or scanning items in the pantry, sort lists by aisle number for a particular store, find opening hours and track specials in-store.

Now, with its Apple Watch app, the retailer is being smart about form factor and letting shoppers fill their trolley without fumbling for their phone.

According to Katrina Colpo, digital marketing manager at Woolworths, the watch brings a level of "personalisation and intimacy" not found on other devices.

"If you've created shopping lists within the iPhone app, you can access those through the watch," she said. "From your wrist, you can see all the lists that you've created for the different items that you need, and as you tap into the shopping list, you can see all of the items that you want to purchase. They're ordered in aisle order for that particular store that you want to shop in."

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The Apple Watch app sorts shopping lists by aisle. Woolworths

The Watch is ultimately "mirroring what's available in the iPhone app" and providing a "view port" for lists and information, meaning the iPhone itself is still needed to organise lists before your at the supermarket. But Colpo said having that information on your wrist could prove invaluable for shoppers who are juggling groceries, kids, a bag and a trolley.

"If you can have the phone in your handbag and you can literally be looking at your shopping list from your wrist, that means your hands are free to be dealing with your trolley and getting the groceries off the shelf," she said.

The Watch also brings new functionality in terms of what Apple calls "glances" -- short, read-only information to give quick details on an app. In Woolworths' case, these glances provide information on the user's nearest store as well as contact details, opening hours and the time it would take to walk or drive there.

While the Apple Watch app is joined by a new iteration of the supermarket's iPhone app, Woolworths doesn't plan to stop there. The company has already conducted trials of iBeacon technology to improve location services in its stores, including offering customers information on click-and-collect orders once they arrive, and the team continues to tweak and refine its digital offering.

And while Apple Pay has no timeline for Australia, we wouldn't be surprised to see the service integrated into future versions of the app, though there's no official word from the retailer on this just yet.

For now, the Woolies Shop App is available for download on the iPhone and will work in tandem with the Apple Watch when it arrives in Australia on April 24.