{"id":109222,"date":"2026-02-17T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=109222"},"modified":"2026-02-16T20:08:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T09:08:34","slug":"are-coles-down-down-prices-really","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/are-coles-down-down-prices-really\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Coles\u2019 \u2018Down Down\u2019 Prices Really Deals? The ACCC Thinks Not"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We\u2019ve all been there: walking through the supermarket, spotting a \u201chuge discount\u201d sign and thinking, \u201cWhat a deal!\u201d But what if those discounts are more illusion than reality? That\u2019s exactly what the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is accusing Coles of in a high-stakes court battle that\u2019s turning heads across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The “Illusion” of a Bargain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In essence, Coles is being accused of pulling off what might seem like a sneaky pricing trick. The supermarket chain allegedly inflated the prices of everyday products before slapping on a \u201cdiscount\u201d label\u2014making customers believe they were getting a bargain, when in reality, they were paying the same or even more than before. The ACCC<\/a> calls this strategy \u201cillusory discounts\u201d\u2014a bit of a fancy term, but essentially, it\u2019s all about price manipulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Coles\"
The logo of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A Case in Point: Nature\u2019s Gift Dog Food<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To give you an example, take Coles’ Nature\u2019s Gift dog food. For nearly 10 months, this wet dog food was priced at $4. Then, out of nowhere, the price jumped up by a whopping 50%, landing at $6. After a week of this inflated price, Coles dropped it to $4.50 and claimed customers were getting a \u201cDown Down\u201d deal, reports The Guardian<\/a>. Sounds like a typical promotion, right? But here\u2019s the kicker: that $4.50 price wasn\u2019t much of a \u201cdeal\u201d because it was still higher than the original price of $4. The ACCC argues that while the \u201cdiscount\u201d was technically real, it was misleading\u2014and that\u2019s the heart of their case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Coles Did It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now, you might wonder, why would Coles do this? Well, it turns out that supermarkets have a lot of power when it comes to setting prices, and those price changes, however small, can lead to big profit boosts. In fact, the ACCC argues that by making customers feel like they\u2019re getting a bargain, Coles could boost sales without actually lowering prices. It\u2019s clever, if you think about it\u2014but it\u2019s also potentially misleading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, Coles<\/a> is defending itself. The company claims that the price changes were just a response to rising costs from suppliers. But whether that justifies the tactic is up to the court to decide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/max_power50\/status\/2023284657828331659\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Bigger Picture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This case isn\u2019t just about one supermarket. The outcome could affect pricing practices across the entire grocery industry in Australia, particularly since Woolworths is facing similar allegations. It could set a new standard for how retailers advertise discounts\u2014and if it rules in favor of the ACCC, we might see a wave of change that could make us all more aware of those “deals” next time we grab something off the shelf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, next time you see a sale sign, maybe think twice. Is it really a discount, or just a clever trick of the pricing trade?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coles faces court over claims of misleading discounts, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) arguing that price promotions were deceptive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":108144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109222","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\/109222","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=109222"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109223,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109222\/revisions\/109223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}