South Africa’s supermarkets often advertise discounts on hundreds of products, and shoppers are drawn in by the promise of savings. However, when comparing the discounts at one store to the regular prices at another, it becomes difficult to know if you’re genuinely getting a good deal. Are these discounts real, or could supermarkets be playing with prices before they drop them?
This question has gained significant attention in Australia, where the country’s two largest supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths, are now facing legal action over allegedly fake discounts. Australia’s consumer watchdog, the ACCC, claims the retailers raised prices briefly before announcing discounts, which sometimes returned the products to their original prices—or even higher.
The case highlights a practice that could, in theory, happen anywhere, including South Africa. But proving it is complex. The ACCC’s investigation involved monitoring prices over many months, with allegations that more than 500 products were misleadingly discounted.
The watchdog is now pushing for heavy fines and a stronger code of conduct to protect both consumers and suppliers. It’s a cautionary tale for South African shoppers who may wonder if their local supermarket’s discounts are too good to be true. While we haven’t seen similar legal cases in South Africa, it’s worth asking whether our discount culture is as transparent as it seems.
For more on the Australian case, see the full article from the BBC here.
