Shoppers reveal secret Coles and Woolworths discount code
A former Coles employee has shared a secret code on the stores sales docket revealing what it means, leaving customers pleasantly surprised.
Commenting on a post on a popular budgeting Facebook page, the ex-employee said the code on the specials label revealed when the promotion would finish.
“Park Ridge, Queensland Coles! Cheap spuds! Not sure for how long though,” one woman shared with shoppers.
“Judging by the discount tag 07/10 bottom right of all yellow tags gives the end date,” the former employee explained. “The joys of being an ex-employee of 10 years.”
Another former Coles merchandiser employee shared the same surprising details in a separate post, saying you can track when items will go on sale by using this date code.
“Does everyone know about supermarket specials rotations?” she asked in the budgeting group.
“Big name goods do not randomly appear on special. Companies pay for the sales to move bulk goods from their warehouses and are planned a year in advance.
“I used to be a merchandiser and had to go into supermarkets when the sales rotations came around. One week it would be Woolies and next another store. Big items such as pet food, UHT milk, cereals, health goods, and more.”
How the secret code can save you money
Apart from advising when a promotion will end, the former merchandiser said you can also track the sale cycle of a product using the promotion end date.
“To know when they are on is a matter of counting the weeks from seeing the item on sale,” she explained, using an example of a particular cereal on sale at Coles.
“This cereal at normal price is $6.50,” she said.
“On a six-weekly rotation, it will be on sale at $3.25. Now I will make a note of this in my diary for six weeks’ time and check then. This special will end on 14/7.
“This is when I purchase bulk of this product to save and last me till next rotation.
“As you can see this is a huge saving. The ticket has the date it ends in the bottom corner.
She went on to say that this was carried out across all supermarkets including Coles and Woolworths.
The Coles date code can usually be found on the bottom right of the docket, while the Woolworths date code can be found on the bottom left.
A Woolworths spokesperson confirmed that the store's specials tickets show "the start and end date of a specific product special in the left-hand corner".
"This is to help our team quickly identify the timeline of a particular special, so they can remove it when it has finished," the spokesperson said.
Yahoo News Australia also contacted Coles for comment about the discount codes.
Budget-savvy shoppers welcome advice
Both Facebook posts sharing this little-known savings advice were excitedly received by shoppers.
“I discovered the date in the corner 'secret' a few months ago. I wasn’t part of this group until today otherwise would’ve shared.
"I didn’t know however, about the rotation being so frequent. Always wondered what the process was - so, thank you!” One person wrote.
“Not sure if anyone mentioned but the app: 'Half Price: Coles, Woolworths' lists all the current sales and is a good place to start noting rotations!” commented another.
“That is so good to know. Thank you for that,” commented a third.
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