Shopper calls out 'cheapskate' Coles over meat detail just a month apart
The disgruntled customer has called out Coles for the apparent 'shrinkflation'.
A Coles shopper has unleashed their frustration over the spiralling cost of groceries and the seemingly sneaky way supermarkets are getting customers to pay more for less.
In a series of photos of beef and pork meatballs shared by one disgruntled shopper this week, two near identical packets can be seen sitting on a bench top. They’re both advertised as being two for $15, however the first weighs in at 560 grams while the second is only 400 grams.
The eagle-eyed shopper was quick to point out that it’s a 28 per cent reduction in the amount of meatballs between their two shops, which they said were purchased a month apart. “Coles (Australian supermarket duopoly cheapskates) have the gall to do a 28 per cent shrinkage in a month,” they wrote online. “Thank God you can still get the two for $15 special?!”
The post on Reddit has since racked up more than 2,000 reactions and hundreds of comments, highlighting the frustration Australians are clearly experiencing thanks to rising food prices.
“I barely go [to Coles] anymore and this is why,” one person wrote. “It’s about a 25 minute drive to Aldi but more than pays for itself.”
“I have probably a year left before I can’t afford to buy food anymore if things keep going this way,” another said. “We’re being conned and ripped off and there's no way around it,” someone else argued. “Shopping for food used to be something I really enjoyed doing and nowadays it just feels stressful and upsetting! Every time I buy something it's a little bit more expensive and a bit sh*t and smaller than it was.”
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'Consumers have really got to be on their toes'
Coles declined to comment for this story, but for the critics of the supermarket duopoly (of which there are currently many), the proof is in the pudding. It comes just days after one customer, speaking to Yahoo News Australia, accused the supermarket of "dead dodgy" pricing practices.
It’s all part of a ploy by the supermarket giants to make more cash amid rising inflation, according to Professor Roberta Crouch from the College of Business, Government and Law at Flinders University.
“One of the ways to try to hold the perception of the same price, but increase your price and therefore increase your margin, is to reduce the size of packaging,” she told Yahoo News Australia.
But are Coles and Woolies playing foul, or just battling to keep up with their own increasing power bills, fuel costs and everything in between?
“Well, since I don't know Coles’ cost structure it is hard to say, it could be either,” Professor Crouch said. “Fuel is one of their inputs that they always cite. If fuel prices are high, then grocery prices tend to follow ... especially perishable items like fresh fruit and vegetables. It's not like you can put it on a train and wait.”
She’s urging customers to shop around and play smarter. “One of the things that consumers should be mindful of is looking at package size and making sure that it isn't changing,” she said. “Look at that label where it gives you the price per unit.
“Consumers have really got to be on their toes and try to understand how the pricing works, because all of these things can be manipulated in order to make it appear that a price has been held.
“It’s like, ‘Oh, the price on this hasn't gone up?’ ‘Well, no, the price hasn't gone up but the package has gone down’.”
Time for transparency
It comes amid increased pressure on Coles and Woolworths for greater transparency on how the supermarkets price their products, with a senate inquiry into allegations of price gouging.
“There's a lot of talk going on right now about Coles and Woolies being more transparent about how much of their margin goes to the farmer,” Professor Crouch said. “Because the farmers are always talking about the fact that they're pushed to the limit on pricing. So there are some calls for some transparency there. and it'll be interesting to see if that happens.
“But more and more the messages is, consumers have just got to be onto it.”
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