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What will the aliens say about us? Actually, let’s rephrase that: What will the aliens make of this peculiar, lasting epoch when high food and grocery prices made us do strange, strange things?
We’re talking about a society that’s weighed Chipotle burrito bowls en masse. We’re talking about a world where Cookie Monster addressed shrinkflation—the practice of altering packaging so customers get less but pay the same (or more).
Let’s add a new tactic to the history books: Suing grocery stores.
Australia’s government is suing two of the nation’s largest grocery chains, Woolworths and Coles, accusing them of deceiving customers with fake discounts.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the country’s consumer watchdog group, said the two companies violated consumer protection laws by “making misleading claims about discounts, when the discounts were, in fact, illusory.”
According to ACCC, the retailers temporarily raised prices on items before dropping their prices in "promotions.” But there was no true discount: The items stayed the same price as before the price spike, or sometimes even climbed higher than before. Products included everything from household staples like deodorant and toothpaste to snacks like Oreos.
The move is unusual in the fight against high prices, and even more so when you consider the magnitude of these businesses: The two companies collectively “control 65% of the Australian market,” per the New York Times.
In addition to the illusory discounts, ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb alleged in her report that the two companies “had already planned to later place the products” in discount promotions, “and implemented the temporary price spike for the purpose of establishing a higher ‘was’ price.”
The alleged fake discounts occurred between 2021 and 2023, and that timing is notable, the ACCC pointed out. “The false or misleading representations concerned the price of household staples at a time of increasing cost-of-living pressures,” Cass-Gottlieb said, per the Times.
In response to the allegations, Woolworths said it would “carefully review the claims…and will continue to engage with the ACCC on the matter.” Coles, meanwhile, said “the allegations relate to a period of significant cost inflation when Coles was receiving a large number of cost price increases from our suppliers,” and said it “intends to defend the proceedings.”
Aliens, take note.