Dark supermarkets are online distribution centres, set up like supermarkets but without the customers. The items go straight from the distribution centre to consumers to avoid over-handling. The centres are more efficient than normal supermarkets, as customers and packers do not get in each other’s way.

According to Queensland University of Technology’s Professor Gary Mortimer, the growth of dark stores in Australia has been relatively slow in comparison to countries like England, largely because of the slow uptake of online grocery shopping.

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