As anxiety about outbreaks of COVID-19 grows in Australia’s two major cities, Woolworths is rolling out technology to help customers work out the best – and safest – time to shop.

Known as Q-Tracker, the new tool monitors queue lengths outside shops with restricted customer numbers – and will also help shoppers pick a less busy period when there is no waiting time.

“By helping customers plan when and where they shop before they leave home, Q-Tracker makes it easier to avoid busy periods, save time and shop with health and safety in mind,” Woolworths director of stores Robert Moffat said.

The also app helps choose the quietest time to shop. Photo: Woolworths

The tool allows customers to view real-time data of shopping activity, including how long the queues are at selected supermarkets. Some stores will also allow shoppers to “book” a spot in a queue.

Woolworths reportedly trademarked Q-Tracker in May, at the first peak of the coronavirus in Australia.

It is now rolling it out at some supermarkets in Melbourne and Sydney as Victoria grapples with a worrying surge in virus infections.

Woolworths says the data used by Q-Tracker is updated every five minutes and includes the number of people waiting outside the supermarket and the average “flow speed” of queues.