The ACCC has begun monitoring Woolworths and Coles for signs of high grocery pricing as of today (July 1).
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says a new excessive pricing prohibition has taken effect that applies to very large supermarkets with annual revenues of more than $30 billion, currently only Coles and Woolworths.
“We know that grocery prices continue to be a key concern for households,” ACCC acting chairperson Catriona Lowe says.
“The excessive pricing prohibition provides us with another tool within our broader toolkit to protect consumers and promote competition in the supermarket sector.
“Our initial focus for the prohibition will be on monitoring Coles and Woolworth’s pricing information to ensure they comply with their obligations,” she says.
HOW THE PROHIBITION WORKS: There is no fixed threshold for an excessive price; the ACCC will monitor price data and other factors like supply costs and profit margins to rule if a grocery product was excessively priced.
ACCC FOCUS IS SELECTIVE
The ACCC will focus on a select group of products to be chosen based on consumer and supplier reports as well as supermarkets data including on prices, margins and sales revenue.
“We will focus our attention on products where excessive pricing is likely to cause the most harm to consumers,” Lowe says.
“We encourage consumers and suppliers to make a report to the ACCC if they have concerns that a supermarket may have excessively priced a grocery product. These reports will help us identify products that may warrant further investigation.”
Over coming months, the commission will publish the initial focus products it will examine closely and provide regular updates.
“We recognise that there is significant public interest in the ACCC’s ongoing work to ensure supermarkets act in accordance with the law,” Lowe says.
The prohibition adds to existing competition and consumer laws that the commission uses.
“In deciding which compliance or enforcement tool to use, our first priority is always to achieve the best possible outcome for the community and to manage risk proportionately,” Lowe says.
“If we observe non-compliance then we would consider the most appropriate enforcement tool to address any misconduct,” she says.
New guidelines that have just been published outline how the consumer watchdog will monitor compliance and if there has been excessive pricing.
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