The Federal Court has found supermarket group Coles guilty of misleading consumers through their discount marketing campaign.

The case was brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in September 2024, relating to 245 productrs sold by Coles.

The ACCC claimed the supermarket chain temporarily raised product prices before putting them on ‘sale’ at a price that was still higher than, or the same as, the price it had previously sold for before the price increase.

“Coles’ pricing practices within its ‘Down Down’ program made it harder for customers to identify genuine value for money,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb says.

Curtin University associate professor of marketing Fazlul Rabbanee says the case sets a legal precedent, with the impact being widely felt.

“Consumer trust of the supermarket has been shattered…the consumers might consider upcoming promotions more carefully,” he says.

Curtin senior lecturer of consumer law and policy Sharmin Tania says Coles isn’t the only supermarket accused of deception.

“Coles had a policy that prices should be sold at a ‘was’ price for 12 weeks, but they changed their policy due to competition with Woolworths,” she says.

“If both companies are found liable, then they might both remedy their pricing strategy.”

Dr Tania hopes the case might bring about change for consumers, with companies taking more responsibility for their business practices.

“The price of everything has gone up; the responsible practice is not only to think about their profit margin, but to think about positively impacting people’s lives,” she says.

In statement, consumer advocacy group CHOICE director of campaigns Andy Kelly says it’s more important than ever for consumers to be able to trust promotions reflect genuine discounts.

“Hiking prices whilst telling consumers that prices are down has allowed Coles to have its cake and eat it too,” he says.