Deceptive Discounts: The Coles and Woolworths Controversy

There are hundreds of angry posts on X, TikTok and Reddit from citizen journalists archiving Coles and Woolworths' published prices and noticing some strange patterns.

The posters complain that the two supermarket giants have misled their customers with their “Down Down” and “Prices Dropped” promotions.

Now, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched legal action, alleging the big two presented discounted promotions that were actually higher, or the same, as the price that had been charged for the same items just weeks beforehand.

Today, economist and contributor to The Saturday Paper Peter Martin, on the “illusory” discounts and how a Cadbury Caramello Koala helped fuel the outrage.

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Guest: Economist and contributor to The Saturday Paper, Peter Martin.

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