Incoming Coles chief executive Leah Weckert says fresh food price rises will begin to moderate this year, but the cost of other products will continue to increase, with shoppers already switching to its cheaper home brand for staple goods.

Ms Weckert, an Adelaide native who has worked at the company since 2011, will become the first woman to run a major supermarket chain in the country after Coles announced she would succeed Steven Cain on May 1.