Chooks to rice, toothpaste and tissues in battle for shopping dollar

FIRST it was cheap chooks, now the grocery giants are slashing the price of tissues, toothpaste and rice as Sydney’s cut-throat supermarket wars gets personal.

Aleisha Beauchamp shopping for groceries at Coles. Pic Darren England.

FIRST it was cheap chooks, now the grocery giants are slashing the price of tissues, toothpaste and rice as Sydney’s cut-throat supermarket wars gets personal.

Woolworths and Coles have been locked in an increasingly hostile battle to win over customers and keep the focus off discount rival Aldi.

It comes as David Jones has also announced plans to “revolutionise” food shopping in Australia, going head-to-head with Woolies and Coles in a grab for the nation’s $90 billion grocery sector.

Woolies and Coles are locked in a battle for the household dollar

Both supermarkets cut the price of their roast chickens at the start of the year, signalling the start of a price-cutting war in the fresh food arena.

Just a week after Woolworths claimed it was cheaper than its arch rival, Wesfarmers-owned Coles has fired back cutting the price of big-selling brands Colgate, Kleenex and Sunrice as the focus turns from fresh food back into household grocery items.

Woolworths has returned fire with high profile personal brands such as Oral-B and Sorbent discounted.

Both chains have been trying to stem flow of shoppers to rival Aldi.

Coles would not comment on the timing of its latest price cuts, however retail analysts claim the price drops are an ongoing campaign to safeguard its customer base and convince shoppers to stay with Coles, reports Fairfax Media today.

New Woolies CEO Brad Banducci has claimed budget shoppers were already returned to Woolworths stores, despite the company’s horror start to 2016.

While food and liquor sales at Coles supermarkets jumped by 4.3 per cent in the six months to December 31, Woolies unveiled a shock total first-half loss of $2.09 billion in the wake of its Masters DIY stores disaster.