<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/01/choice-shames-coles-and-woolworths-with-shonky-award-for-cashing-in-during-cost-of-living-crisis>
"Australia’s two major supermarkets have been named and shamed for “cashing in
during a cost-of-living crisis” by consumer advocates Choice. Coles and
Woolworths were among the recipients of Choice’s Shonky awards, an annual list
that recognises the worst products and services of the year.
“While Coles and Woolies have been promoting how they’re supposedly helping
with the cost of living, in the background they’ve been banking huge profits,”
the Choice chief executive, Alan Kirkland, said.
a shopper at Coles
“Frequent changes in prices mean it’s hard to tell if you’re even getting a
genuine discount.”
The supermarket giants were joined on Choice’s ignominious list by a rental
platform that the consumer group claims put desperate house hunters at risk, a
retailer it says tricks customers into a $99 subscription and a mini-fridge it
says doesn’t actually cool things.
There are many reasons why a business can be named among the worst of the worst
and receive a Shonky award. In some cases it is profiting in what Choice says
is an unfair way, Kirkland said.
The supermarkets each recorded more than a billion dollars in profit this year
and “people are questioning whether that’s justified”, he said. An overwhelming
majority of shoppers (60%) believe the supermarkets are “making a lot of money
from the price hikes”, according to a Choice survey conducted in September,
while less than 20% think Coles and Woolworths are doing enough to keep prices
low.
At the same time, 88% of consumers surveyed were worried about the cost of food
and groceries – a stark increase from 2021, when the number was 56%.
What it comes down to is “Coles and Woolies putting their own interests, and
the interests of their profits, ahead of the interests of their customers”,
Kirkland said. “They are well and truly deserving of a Shonky award.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
