{"id":109156,"date":"2026-02-12T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=109156"},"modified":"2026-02-11T20:40:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T09:40:07","slug":"youre-paying-more-at-supermarket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/youre-paying-more-at-supermarket\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You\u2019re Paying More at the Supermarket: The Per-Unit Pricing Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Australian supermarkets are quietly changing the way they price fruit and vegetables, and shoppers are starting to notice the confusion it\u2019s causing. In a move that\u2019s been slowly gaining traction, major chains like Woolworths, Coles, and Aldi have expanded their use of per-unit pricing\u2014a practice that might seem convenient, but is actually leaving many customers paying more than they expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Price Confusion Problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s take a quick trip to the supermarket. You walk into Woolworths and see kids\u2019 bananas priced at $3.70 for a bunch of five. It seems reasonable at first\u2014until you realize the Cavendish bananas right next to them are priced at $3.50 per kilogram. Sounds like a deal, right? But when one shopper weighed the kids&#8217; bananas and realized they were only 530g, the per-kilogram price shot up to $6.98\u2014that\u2019s nearly double the price of the larger bananas!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is where things get tricky. Unit pricing like this isn\u2019t always clear, and it makes it almost impossible for customers to easily compare prices. Whether it\u2019s a cucumber sold by the unit or a cauliflower with a set price per piece, shoppers often can\u2019t tell if they\u2019re getting a good deal or being taken for a ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Coles has said it is trialling an expansion of per-unit pricing. However, when Guardian Australia visited a Coles in Melbourne this week, more than half of the fresh produce was already priced per item, in what seemed like a random fashion. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ry3UIoSzlk\">https:\/\/t.co\/Ry3UIoSzlk<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Ray Wilton now on Bluesky as Raymond Wilton\ud83d\udca7 (@raywilton4) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/raywilton4\/status\/2021369085603479999?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">February 10, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Growing Trend in Australian Supermarkets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is part of a wider trend in Australian supermarkets where, increasingly, fresh produce is being priced per unit\u2014meaning you pay for a single item (like one cauliflower, or a bunch of bananas) instead of paying for its weight. While some argue this is more convenient for the average shopper\u2014who might want a single item\u2014it leaves us without the transparency of knowing how much we&#8217;re actually paying per kilogram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Coles, for example, has recently expanded its use of per-unit pricing, making it harder for shoppers to compare the cost of items. Lettuce, kale, and silverbeet are just a few of the products sold with this pricing method. Cauliflowers are priced at $5 each, while broccoli is listed at $8 per kilogram. At first glance, it&#8217;s unclear which option offers the better deal, especially since one cauliflower might weigh more than the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even at <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/aldis-deals-tap-away\/\">Aldi<\/a>, where prices are usually lower, rock melons are priced at $4.99 each, placed next to watermelons at $1.99 per kilogram. Without the ability to weigh the melons, per-unit pricing makes it difficult to make an informed choice. This confusion leaves many shoppers wondering if they&#8217;re truly getting the best value for their money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why This Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As consumer advocates point out, per-unit pricing can be a sneaky way of hiking prices without clearly showing the difference to the shopper. In some cases, like the kids\u2019 bananas, per-unit pricing can lead to price discrepancies of more than 50%. Without any per-kilogram prices displayed, consumers have to do their own research or, at worst, feel like they&#8217;re guessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dario Bulfone, an expert in the field, explained to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2026\/feb\/11\/bitter-taste-per-unit-pricing-of-australian-supermarket-fruit-and-veg-leaving-customers-out-of-pocket\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Guardian<\/a> that it\u2019s not complicated for supermarkets to display the average weight of items, so shoppers can compare prices easily. It\u2019s all about making it fairer and more transparent. He argues that with the technology available, it\u2019s a decision, not a technical limitation, for supermarkets to not provide this clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Needs to Change<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This shift to per-unit pricing has sparked a call for reform. Consumer advocates are urging supermarkets to consistently display per-kilogram prices for fresh produce, or at least provide a per-unit estimate based on average weights. Without this, Australians are at risk of being taken advantage of, especially as prices continue to rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, the government has not announced any reforms to this pricing practice, but there\u2019s growing pressure for change. Assistant competition minister Andrew Leigh has said that the government is committed to improving pricing transparency, which is a step in the right direction. But until then, customers will need to be more vigilant and aware of how supermarkets are pricing their fruit and vegetables.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supermarkets&#8217; per-unit pricing on fruit and veg is leaving Aussies confused and out of pocket. Find out why customers are calling for clearer pricing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":108059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109156"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109157,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109156\/revisions\/109157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}