Overview
- Australia’s consumer watchdog and Woolworths began their Federal Court clash in Sydney on Tuesday, with sharp exchanges over what shoppers take from the red-and-white 'Prices Dropped' tickets.
- The ACCC says Woolworths pre-planned brief price hikes, then advertised lower prices that were still higher than earlier regular prices, narrowing a larger pool of 266 items to 12 products for close review.
- One example cited in court showed Oreo Family Packs sold at $3.50 for 696 days, lifted to $5.00 for 22 days, then promoted as 'Prices Dropped' at $4.50, which the ACCC argues looked like a saving but cost customers more than before the spike.
- Testimony from Woolworths chief commercial officer Paul Harker outlined internal 'guardrails' that set a price-establishment period of 8–12 weeks before later being revised to 3–6 weeks during high inflation, as he defended the program as genuine and tied to supplier cost rises.
- Justice Michael O’Bryan questioned how far courts should infer deception from tickets and stressed the need to show whether a real saving was offered, while the stakes include large penalties, class-action refunds, and a pending judgment in a near-identical Coles case after Woolworths retired 'Prices Dropped' in December 2024.