Coles customer's grocery bill exposes grim reality for supermarket shoppers
An Aussie mum has revealed how much her grocery bill has grown in a matter of months.
As Aussies grapple with the rising cost of living, one Coles shopper has crunched the numbers to reveal just how much supermarket prices have risen in less than a year.
The NSW mum compared an online order from late 2022 to current prices on the Coles website, listing 52 products that all cost more now than they did around nine months ago.
The lowest increase was 5c, for a kilo of Coles brand plain flour, and the biggest hike was on a 425g can of the supermarket's sliced beetroot, which has gone from 80c to $2.35, a jump of 194 per cent.
Altogether, the cost of the Reddit user's shop in 2022 came to $192.80, while the total price is now $226.24, an increase of $33.34 or 17 per cent. The average price increase of individual items is 21 per cent, or 64c.
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The shopper also noted big price jumps on Parkers Pretzels, which rose by 60 per cent, and Coles Choc Wafers, which are now 45 per cent more expensive. Meanwhile, items to rise only slightly in price are 2L Coca-Cola, which has jumped 3 per cent, and 175g packs of CC's, which now cost 4 per cent more.
Here are some other products on the Coles customer's shopping list that have experienced significant price increases since 2022:
Item | 2022 Price | 2023 Price |
500g Coles Frozen Cauliflower + Broccoli | $2.80 | $3.40 |
1kg Coles Frozen Potato Royals | $3.40 | $4.90 |
4 pack Four'N Twenty Meat Pies | $7.50 | $8.50 |
700g Coles Shredded Tasty Cheese | $7.50 | $10 |
20 pack Top 20 Potato Chips | $6.50 | $8.65 |
1kg Coles Frozen Corn Kernels | $3.20 | $4.19 |
250g Coles Halloumi | $5.50 | $6.50 |
200g Parkers Pretzels | $3 | $4.80 |
1.5kg Spud Lite Potatoes | $5 | $6 |
1kg Coles Honey Soy Chicken Wings | $7.50 | $9 |
400g Thomason's Deli Ham Quad Pack | $5.50 | $6.50 |
1kg Birds Eye Frozen Mix Veg | $5.50 | $6.50 |
500g Arnott's Assorted Cream Biscuits | $6 | $7 |
Price hikes across the board
While the shopper's list consists mostly of food items, it appears no supermarket category has been spared, as her choice of ibuprofen and panty liners both rose in price by 20c, and a four-pack of Coles brand double length toilet paper rolls is now 50c more expensive than it was in 2022.
Coles profits soar
Coles has just announced a $1.09 billion annual profit, a year after saying global problems such as the war in Ukraine and natural disasters like the NSW floods had caused ingredients like wheat and soft vegetables to rise in cost. The retailer has put the increased price of processed food items down to the rising cost of labour, freight and packaging.
The National Food Supply Chain Alliance – made up of representatives from various sectors of the food industry – predicted last November that an unprecedented scale of threats to the nation's domestic supply chain would put pressure on grocery prices until at least the end of 2023.
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