Shoppers who buy their groceries from the discount chain Aldi instead of Australia’s dominant supermarkets Coles and Woolworths save at least $15 on a basket of essential items, according to Choice.
The findings, part of a government-backed quarterly price comparison, comes as the competition regulator pursues Coles and Woolworths over allegations they misled shoppers by offering “illusory” discounts on hundreds of products.
The price differential between Aldi and the two majors remained above 25%, according to the second quarterly undercover shopping survey, conducted in June.
When supermarket specials are included in the analysis of 14 common groceries – including apples, sliced bread, flour, tinned tomatoes, cheese and milk – the gap narrows slightly to about 23%.
Comparable items were chosen based on a range of factors including size, quality and ingredients but the specific brands are not identified to prevent supermarkets gaming the survey.
Choice’s chief executive, Ashley de Silva, said it was important that supermarkets used “clear, simple labelling, that leaves the customer in no doubt about whether a product is actually on special”.
“Buying items on special can make a difference to overall grocery costs, and reinforces the benefits of shopping around where possible,” De Silva said.
“Unfortunately, Choice has previously found supermarket labels are often confusing, making it difficult to tell if there is a true discount on offer or not.”
The Aldi basket was priced at $50.79, which was slightly cheaper than the March result.
An equivalent Coles basket costs $66.22, which includes specials such as discounted teabags that helped price its basket lower than Woolworths.
The cost was $68.37 at Woolworths and $78.95 at IGA.
The price comparison is part of an initiative to provide better transparency of the supermarket sector, which has faced allegations of anti-competitive price gouging during a cost-of-living crisis.
Anthony Albanese said the Choice report provided important information to consumers.
“Our cost of living help is about getting wages up for workers, bringing costs down for households and getting inflation back to where it should be,” the prime minister said.
The legal proceedings against Coles and Woolworths have also drawn a response from the Labor government as households grapple with rising costs.
This week Albanese said if the allegations against Coles and Woolworths were found to be true it would be “completely unacceptable” behaviour.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is suing the major retailers over what is commonly known as “was/is” comparative pricing.
It alleges they engaged in misleading conduct by briefly increasing prices of well-known items to establish a high “was” price, before dropping the price and telling shoppers they were receiving a discount.
Coles has said it intends to defend the proceedings, while Woolworths is reviewing the claims.
The retailers have suffered sharp share price drops this week, as investors factor in the potential for large fines, reputation damage and any future impact on the “Down Down” promotion at Coles, and “Prices Dropped” campaign at Woolworths.
Separately, the ACCC has conducted a pricing investigation into the supermarkets and handed its interim report to the government but the results are yet to be made public.
Choice will publish comparison reports every quarter over the next three years to provide insight into price movements of popular items.
