Did ‘illusory’ discounts from Coles, Woolies really mislead consumers?
The murky legal issue for the ACCC case against the big two supermarkets is what constitutes a “reasonable” period between a price increase and a subsequent promotional saving.
The political and regulatory game of bashing the “big two” supermarkets for price gouging during a cost-of-living crisis is hotting up, with the competition watchdog taking legal action against “illusory” discounts that allegedly misled consumers.
However, any legal action by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is likely to be contested by the major supermarkets because the regulatory guidelines or guardrails around promotional discounting are a grey legal issue.
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Robert Hadler is an independent consultant and director. He is former General Manager Corporate Affairs at Coles.
