<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/supermarkets" rel="" target="" title="supermarket"><span>supermarket</span></a><span> giant effectively misled shoppers with a catchy slogan that was "not just some meaningless phrase", a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/courts" rel="" target="" title="court"><span>court</span></a><span> has </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/accc-court-updates-coles-accused-of-utterly-misleading-grocery-prices/70a3d08c-7dec-40ad-ae10-b31e00875991" rel="" target="" title="heard"><span>heard</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In its closing submissions to the Federal Court, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) argued </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/coles" rel="" target="" title="Coles"><span>Coles</span></a><span> intentionally duped customers with its "down down" campaign, first launched in 2010.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Garry Rich SC, for the commission, said the campaign was a tactic to deceive </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/consumer/3" rel="" target="" title="consumers"><span>consumers</span></a><span> that prices on thousands of products were falling when in fact they were going up overall.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/finance/inflation-australia-january-2026-cpi-interest-rates-implications/6b382a95-929e-4fda-9d88-1df3ed7cc0b0" target="_blank"><strong><span>Inflation comes in hotter than expected again, raising chance of interest rate hike</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In one example cited by Rich, the price of a jar of Coles-brand quince paste was raised to $4.50 from $3 for four weeks before being reduced to $3.15.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rich argued that four weeks was not a genuine establishment period for $4.50 to be legitimately considered the regular price.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"When consumers hear the words 'down down', they don't think that's a meaningless phrase," he told Justice Michael O'Bryan.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/coles-down-down-prices-duped-customers-court-told/13951574-8746-4f47-8453-bb18ee9bd8b4" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They think it means something, and what they think it means is that the price of this product has gone down."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Coles had defended its discount campaign in court, saying grocery shoppers understood they represented "fair dinkum" price reductions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The retail giant argued its "down down" prices were genuine discounts for shoppers after an increase in wholesale costs during a post-</span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/coronavirus" rel="" target="" title="COVID"><span>COVID</span></a><span> inflation surge.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In his summary, Rich painted a picture of the average consumer, saying that grocery shopping was a chore for most.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There must be very few people who shop for groceries for fun," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/wisetech-to-cut-up-to-2000-jobs-ai-restructure/e1626bc8-91d7-43db-8390-13ea2e0a6eb5" target="_blank"><strong><span>WiseTech Global set to cut up to 2000 jobs for 'AI efficiency'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Customers were often in a hurry, shopping for many different products on the same visit, Rich added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Many are travelling through the aisles of Coles with children in tow, perhaps hanging off the trolley begging for ice cream," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They see a big red and white ticket and read that the price is 'down down' ... many of them will have no idea that the price was actually lower four weeks ago."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Justice O'Bryan queried whether time-poor consumers might take the meaning of "down down" to be simply a generic statement for prices as a whole.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Rich countered by saying that "down down" immediately implied that there used to be a higher price.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Competitive pressures between Coles and </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/woolworths" rel="" target="" title="Woolworths"><span>Woolworths</span></a><span> had created an ethical race to the bottom between the supermarket duopoly, he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The better standard, if one is going to use Coles' standards as a guide, is what did they think was appropriate in circumstances where they weren't fighting tooth and nail with Woolworths, where they weren't concerned that Woolworths had thrown out the rule book," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The commission alleges the supermarket giant deliberately raised prices on thousands of everyday items before offering discounts at prices higher than or equal to the original shelf price throughout a period of 15 months.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The case continues.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/chocolate-increasingly-targeted-in-thefts-uk-stores-now-protected-in-plastic-cases/3e413a8a-191a-4eca-bd5e-4fa19dc35ebf" target="_blank"><strong><span>Shops locking up chocolate as theft focus shifts in UK</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a 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