Amid the ongoing cost of living crisis, Aussie shoppers are constantly on the lookout for bargains to make their weekly grocery trips more affordable.
As shoppers strive to make every dollar count at the checkout, they have found a lifeline with the release of consumer group CHOICE’s second quarterly, government-funded report on supermarket prices across Australia, which has revealed the country’s cheapest supermarket.
To find out which Australian supermarket provided the best value for money, CHOICE deployed undercover shoppers to visit 104 supermarkets across 27 locations in June 2024. This included 27 Woolworths, 27 Coles, 23 Aldi, and 27 IGA stores. Shoppers purchased a total of 14 items, comprising 12 packaged products—either national brands or comparable supermarket and budget options, such as beef mince and milk—along with two fresh produce items: apples and carrots.
The shopping baskets featured a blend of both house-brand and national-brand products, reflecting the offerings at Aldi, Coles, Woolworths, and IGA. To ensure an equitable comparison, the items were selected based on criteria such as ingredient lists, country of origin, and packaging similarities.
After comparing prices, CHOICE discovered that Aldi offered the lowest cost for a full shopping basket, totaling $50.79 in June, a decrease from $51.51 in the March quarter.
An average basket of 14 common household items cost $68.37 at Woolworths, $3.44 more expensive compared to the same items three months prior.
The prices of the same items at Coles came down $2.30 to $66.22 in the same time period, whereas a full basket at IGA basket came in at $78.95.
Along with selecting the right supermarket for your weekly grocery savings, CHOICE offers these top tips to help you save even more at the checkout:
CHOICE’s findings come after the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently announced it was taking Woolworths and Coles to court over alleged “misleading claims” to consumers regarding discounts on their products.
The ACCC launched legal action in the Federal Court against Woolworths Group Limited and Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd on Monday, September 23.
The ACCC alleges that both retailers increased prices of products by 15 per cent for brief periods before placing them in Woolworths’ Prices Dropped promotion and Coles’ Down Down promotion at prices lower than during the price spike but higher than, or the same as, the regular price.
ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the two major supermarkets allegedly “breached the Australian Consumer Law by making misleading claims about discounts, when the discounts were, in fact, illusory”.
“Following many years of marketing campaigns by Woolworths and Coles, Australian consumers have come to understand that the ‘Prices Dropped’ and ‘Down Down’ promotions relate to a sustained reduction in the regular prices of supermarket products. However, in the case of these products, we allege the new ‘Prices Dropped’ and ‘Down Down’ promotional prices were actually higher than, or the same as, the previous regular price,” Cass-Gottlieb said.
“We allege that each of Woolworths and Coles breached the Australian Consumer Law by making misleading claims about discounts, when the discounts were, in fact, illusory.
“We also allege that in many cases both Woolworths and Coles had already planned to later place the products on a ‘Prices Dropped’ or ‘Down Down’ promotion before the price spike, and implemented the temporary price spike for the purpose of establishing a higher ‘was’ price.”
-with AAP.