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Woolworths (ASX:WOW) has responded to a report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission examining pricing among major supermarkets, saying it had already taken action on many of the 20 recommendations made.
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This included providing customers with lower prices and “deeper” promotions, simplified promotional programs, clearer specials explanations, and greater accessibility to pricing info through the supermarket’s site and app.
Woolworths also confirmed it was following the ACCC’s recommendation in publishing all product prices online.
“We have worked constructively with the ACCC to help it understand our business, the sectors in which we operate, our suppliers and supply chains, and the considerable competition we face,” Amanda Bardwell, Woolies’ CEO, said.
“We play an important role in the lives of millions of Australians, more than 200,000 team
members, and our suppliers.
“We have taken steps to improve the experiences customers and suppliers have with us, and
continue to listen carefully to all of them.
“We fully understand customers want us to make it easier to find value, especially as the cost of living remains their major concern.”
In September 2024, the national regulator took both Woolworths and its close competitor Coles to court over claims their respective staple “Prices Dropped” and “Down Down” campaigns had been misleading.
The ACCC claimed some products were sold at regular long-term prices – excluding short-term specials, sometimes for up to a year – before being increased by 15%.
Then, these same products would be included in Woolworths’ “Prices Dropped” and Coles’ “Down Down” promotions, the ACCC said, with new prices less than the previous spike but still higher than the regular long-term price.
The ACCC review that followed – and which Woolies responded to today – aimed at encouraging greater transparency in pricing among Oz supermarkets.
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In its findings reported today, the ACCC noted “ALDI, Coles, and Woolworths are some of the most profitable supermarket businesses among global peers and their average product margins have increased over the past five financial years.”
Woolworths has been higher after the news and at 10:59am the supermarket was trading at $29.68 – a rise of 5.44% since the market opened.
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