Coles court defeat won’t be a win for its customers

A landmark ruling on the supermarket’s sham discounts will force changes to promotions, ensuring budget buyers are likely to see fewer bargains.

Coles may have been found to have misled customers with its discount pricing strategy in a landmark Federal Court judgment, but its defeat could mean shelf prices remain higher for longer, hitting budget shoppers the hardest.

That’s because Justice Michael O’Bryan’s ruling that the supermarket giant sold 13 products under sham discounts sets a precedent for the amount of time a product needs to be priced at a certain level before it can be reduced and labelled as a discount promotion.

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