Coles responds after ’immoral’ price tag photo goes viral

A Coles clearance sticker has been deemed unethical, after a “sneaky” detail was spotted on the price tag.

A photo showing the “reduced to clear” and “regular” prices of a BBQ seasoning sold at Coles has sparked outrage among customers.

The image, shared to the r/australia Reddit forum, showed a picture of the two price tags, which were exactly the same.

The price listed on the shelf tag of the Smokey Q Original BBQ Rub Shaker was $7, but the Coles clearance sticker was also $7, meaning there was seemingly no discount.

“Is this even legal?” the poster, who spotted the price tag at Coles Canberra Centre on Friday, asked.

A Coles spokesperson told news.com.au, “Coles takes clear and accurate pricing information on tickets very seriously.

“We always aim to ensure that our specials represent value for our customers and strive to ensure accuracy across the thousands of products we offer.

“From time to time an error can occur, such as in this case, and we work urgently to resolve it including identifying how the error happened so we can avoid the same error in the future.”

News.com.au understands that in this situation there was a keying issue with the product which meant the clearance price was the same as the original.

The ‘reduced to clear’ sticker said the spice mix was $7. Picture: Reddit

The on-shelf price tag was also $7. Picture: Reddit

In August, Coles reported a significant increase in revenue from its grocery business and achieved the highest supermarket profit margins recorded during the pandemic, even as shoppers face the rapidly increasing cost of living.

The revenue bump supported a huge growth in annual profit, which reached $1.1 billion.

In light of this, the image left many Aussies struggling with rising grocery prices feeling particularly angry.

“I have a feeling next week the price will be off special and the new standard price be $8,” one person said.

And an ex-retail employee wrote, “Retail is manipulative as hell. I’ll never defend it.”

Others said, “WTF”, “this is a rip off” and “ridiculous.”

However, some eagle-eyed people pointed out that the date on the shelf tag is 13/11, which was just two days before the customer took the photo, suggesting it was likely changed at the same time as the clearance label.

“This is normal, that way if the yellow ticket falls off or is removed, the ticket label left behind is still accurate,” one person noted.

“To avoid confusion they really should have the previous ‘WAS $X’ on the yellow ticket.”

Someone then pointed out that even if that’s true and this process is “technically allowable” it’s still “immoral.”

The spice mix that has been reduced to clear. Picture: Coles

Coles is currently being investigated for price gouging. Picture: Alan Barber

This complaint comes after a class action law firm filed its lawsuit against Coles and Woolworths over allegedly dodgy sales prices last week.

The GMP Law firm, based in Sydney, filed court documents in the Federal Court on Thursday and claimed that consumers who join could receive refunds ranging from $200 to $1300.

“We believe this class action is an essential move toward safeguarding consumer rights and demanding transparency in retail practices Australia-wide,” GMP Law chairman Gerard Malouf said.

The case stems from the ACCC suing Coles and Woolworths separately.

The national consumer watchdog’s investigation alleged that the two supermarket giants violated Australian Consumer Law by promoting specially marked products with misleading discounts, where the price reductions were either deceptive or non-existent.

The regulator claims that these retailers misled consumers on hundreds of everyday products between February 2022 and May 2023.

A displayed price can be misleading if the promoted price indicates it’s “a sale or special price when it is actually the normal price.”

Originally published as Coles responds after ’immoral’ price tag photo goes viral