Coles Defends Pricing Practices in Federal Court, Denies Misleading Shoppers

Coles is locked in a court battle with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and denies misleading shoppers with its pricing practices.

ACCC previously accused Coles of breaching the law with its “Down Down” promotion.

Coles Denies Misleading Customers

According to a report by The Guardian, ACCC accused Coles of offering “illusory” discounts on many common household products.

However, Coles denies doing this and claims that the promotional prices it offered are genuine discounts.

“What they would be concerned with when they’re walking down the aisle trying to work out what to buy today for their shopping is whether the claimed discount … was fair dinkum,” John Sheahan KC. Sheahan represents Coles in its federal court battle.

“So long as the was price is a genuine price, not contrived or ephemeral, then the consumer’s interest is appropriately satisfied,” he added.

ACCC’s Argument

According to ABC News, ACCC used three prices Coles charged on a tin of dog food to show that the supermarket chain has been misleading shoppers.

Between April 2022 and February 2023, the supermarket offered a 1.2 kilogram loaf of Nature’s Gift Wet Dog Food for $4, said ACCC legal counsel Garry Rich.

The price then went up by 50 per cent to $6 after. This lasted for seven days. On the eighth day, it went down to $4.50, a promotion that Coles labelled as “Down Down.”

This third price is 13 per cent more than the initial $6 shoppers were previously paying for the same product.

“It did not disclose that a reasonable consumer would not have understood that Coles had increased the price to $6 for just seven days, immediately before the promotion, and that for 296 days before that, the price was $4,” ACCC’s legal counsel argued.

However, Sheahan dismissed the argument by saying, “In the end, all prices are temporary. Nothing lasts forever.”