It's been a tough year for Australian shoppers. With the cost of living rising steadily, the pressure continues to squeeze household budgets ahead of Christmas.

And now, savvy Coles shoppers are trading down to more affordable alternatives when stocking up for both holiday celebrations and everyday meals.

Coles, Australia’s second-largest supermarket chain, has recorded a 3.6 per cent increase to $10.3 billion in group revenue between June and September, significantly boosted by a 9.4 per cent growth in private-label brands.

Chief Executive Leah Weckert shared that the budget strain is a big talking point among customers. With projections showing a 20 per cent increase in Australians looking to cook, eat and celebrate at home this year compared to last, Coles is prioritising the provision of more affordable product options.

Coles shoppers are trading down their expensive groceries for cheaper alternatives. Image source: Shutterstock.

'The big challenge, I think, is how do we make it increasingly easy for customers to find value in our stores,' Ms Weckert said.

'We’re very proactively doing things like reducing the cost of ham versus last year and finding really great value options, so customers can balance their budget.'

'That’s a huge focus area for us at the moment.'

According to Weckert, customers are turning away from pricier choices like champagne, craft beer, and steak in favour of lower-cost but no less delicious options like rosé, prosecco, mainstream beer brands, and minced meat.

'Customers are trading out of, for example, steaks into mince, or out of red meat into chickens, to find cheaper and more affordable alternatives for protein. Some of the other things we’re seeing is that they’re buying in bulk and then cooking in bulk and freezing at home,' Ms Weckert added.

Economic experts have also noted the possibility of two more rate increases before the new year, putting household budgets under more pressure. They also noted that customers will continue ‘trading down’ going into the holiday season.

However, Coles’ quarterly results didn't meet expectations, leaving the share price mostly in the red, resulting in a recovery of only 0.2 per cent by the end of the trading session. MST Marquee Senior Research Analyst Craig Woolford predicted the weaker trends would persist and possibly lead to small downgrades in earnings.

Interestingly, online sales have seen a significant boost. In-store Liquorland sales remained steady with a 1.8 per cent increase, but online liquor store sales sped ahead with an impressive 32.2 per cent growth for liquor purchases and 24.6 per cent for online grocery shopping.

'There [is] a cohort of customers that use online shopping to manage a budget. It prevents them from buying things impulsively when they go in-store,' Ms Weckert said.

Despite this shift, champagne and spirits will still have their place on the shelves, with expectations of them being popular festive-season gifts.

Hosted campaigns like the MasterChef cookware and the Curtis Stone BBQ collections are part of Coles' strategy to keep customers coming, which Weckert claims have successfully boosted sales.

'Those campaigns have been very successful in driving sales. They’re a key part of the trade plan going forward,' Ms Weckert added.

Coles, however, saw a decline in prices for fresh fruit and vegetables by 14.5 per cent due to last year's colder weather and La Niña flooding affecting growth conditions severely.

Still, overall food inflation, excluding tobacco and fresh produce, skyrocketed to 5.7 per cent due to increased prices for dairy goods like cheese, eggs, and oil. Higher wheat commodity prices have also impacted the prices of baked goods.

Coles is also reportedly battling a rise in theft and has implemented strict security measures at 250 branches that are most affected. This includes cameras that can determine if items were not scanned and 'smart gates' that lock the wheels of trolleys with items that have not been paid for.

Key Takeaways

• Coles saw a 3.6 per cent increase in group revenue to $10.3 billion between June and September, aided by 9.4 per cent growth in private-label brands.
  
• CEO Leah Weckert has highlighted cost-of-living pressures for customers and said the supermarket has made offering more affordable products a priority.
  
• Coles is also dealing with rising theft and plans to implement strict security measures in some of its stores.
  
• There has been a drastic increase in Coles' online liquor store sales, which soared by 32.2 per cent, followed by a 24.6 per cent increase in online grocery shopping.
  

Members, have you started shopping for the holidays? Do you have any tips on how to save during this festive season? Share them with us in the comments below!

 

[Singomate]

It's been a tough year for Australian shoppers. With the cost of living rising steadily, the pressure continues to squeeze household budgets ahead of Christmas.

And now, savvy Coles shoppers are trading down to more affordable alternatives when stocking up for both holiday celebrations and everyday meals.

Coles, Australia’s second-largest supermarket chain, has recorded a 3.6 per cent increase to $10.3 billion in group revenue between June and September, significantly boosted by a 9.4 per cent growth in private-label brands.

Chief Executive Leah Weckert shared that the budget strain is a big talking point among customers. With projections showing a 20 per cent increase in Australians looking to cook, eat and celebrate at home this year compared to last, Coles is prioritising the provision of more affordable product options.

View attachment 33215

Coles shoppers are trading down their expensive groceries for cheaper alternatives. Image source: Shutterstock.

'The big challenge, I think, is how do we make it increasingly easy for customers to find value in our stores,' Ms Weckert said.

'We’re very proactively doing things like reducing the cost of ham versus last year and finding really great value options, so customers can balance their budget.'

'That’s a huge focus area for us at the moment.'

According to Weckert, customers are turning away from pricier choices like champagne, craft beer, and steak in favour of lower-cost but no less delicious options like rosé, prosecco, mainstream beer brands, and minced meat.

'Customers are trading out of, for example, steaks into mince, or out of red meat into chickens, to find cheaper and more affordable alternatives for protein. Some of the other things we’re seeing is that they’re buying in bulk and then cooking in bulk and freezing at home,' Ms Weckert added.

Economic experts have also noted the possibility of two more rate increases before the new year, putting household budgets under more pressure. They also noted that customers will continue ‘trading down’ going into the holiday season.

However, Coles’ quarterly results didn't meet expectations, leaving the share price mostly in the red, resulting in a recovery of only 0.2 per cent by the end of the trading session. MST Marquee Senior Research Analyst Craig Woolford predicted the weaker trends would persist and possibly lead to small downgrades in earnings.

Interestingly, online sales have seen a significant boost. In-store Liquorland sales remained steady with a 1.8 per cent increase, but online liquor store sales sped ahead with an impressive 32.2 per cent growth for liquor purchases and 24.6 per cent for online grocery shopping.

'There [is] a cohort of customers that use online shopping to manage a budget. It prevents them from buying things impulsively when they go in-store,' Ms Weckert said.

Despite this shift, champagne and spirits will still have their place on the shelves, with expectations of them being popular festive-season gifts.

Hosted campaigns like the MasterChef cookware and the Curtis Stone BBQ collections are part of Coles' strategy to keep customers coming, which Weckert claims have successfully boosted sales.

'Those campaigns have been very successful in driving sales. They’re a key part of the trade plan going forward,' Ms Weckert added.

Coles, however, saw a decline in prices for fresh fruit and vegetables by 14.5 per cent due to last year's colder weather and La Niña flooding affecting growth conditions severely.

Still, overall food inflation, excluding tobacco and fresh produce, skyrocketed to 5.7 per cent due to increased prices for dairy goods like cheese, eggs, and oil. Higher wheat commodity prices have also impacted the prices of baked goods.

Coles is also reportedly battling a rise in theft and has implemented strict security measures at 250 branches that are most affected. This includes cameras that can determine if items were not scanned and 'smart gates' that lock the wheels of trolleys with items that have not been paid for.

Key Takeaways

• Coles saw a 3.6 per cent increase in group revenue to $10.3 billion between June and September, aided by 9.4 per cent growth in private-label brands.
• CEO Leah Weckert has highlighted cost-of-living pressures for customers and said the supermarket has made offering more affordable products a priority.
• Coles is also dealing with rising theft and plans to implement strict security measures in some of its stores.
• There has been a drastic increase in Coles' online liquor store sales, which soared by 32.2 per cent, followed by a 24.6 per cent increase in online grocery shopping.

Members, have you started shopping for the holidays? Do you have any tips on how to save during this festive season? Share them with us in the comments below!

I could care less what profit Coles makes, because it makes it's profits from ripping off every day Australians, and sends its dividends back to South Africa. Multinationals at work. I had interesting conversation with old school friend he is a farmer in Tasmania, telling me how his crops are sold indirectly to Coles at a less than cost because between them and Woolworths they have a monopoly on the market

 

[Suzanne rose]

I saw on the news last night how Coles profits had increase by a huge ammount and straight away thought, yeh by increasing their prices .
So after being told price increases have happened because of Covid, because of the floods, because of the fires , because if petrol prices going up I'm now seeing they gave left if the most likely one and its actually because of their greediness

As for Aldi they have been ripping of their staff by making them come in 30 minutes earlier and stay back 30 minutes later without being paid

 

[hdhensel]

Wandered through Woolies the other day to see if they had anything to offer at a reasonable price. Couldn't find much so I walked across to Coles. They were even dearer on a lot of things than Woolies. Anyone who shops there doesn't care about money, doesn't understand value for money, or is too stuck in the mud to try anything else. I couldn't believe the differences in prices for pasta between Coles and ALDI, for example.

 

[mylittletibbies]

I saw on the news last night how Coles profits had increase by a huge ammount and straight away thought, yeh by increasing their prices .
So after being told price increases have happened because of Covid, because of the floods, because of the fires , because if petrol prices going up I'm now seeing they gave left if the most likely one and its actually because of their greediness

As for Aldi they have been ripping of their staff by making them come in 30 minutes earlier and stay back 30 minutes later without being paid

Yes, not good at all. I shop at Aldi and was disappointed to hear this.
I worked at a nursing home once, as secretary to the nursing unit manager. One of my jobs was to work out the wages of all employees and also the residents contributions
These had to be done on a set day and sent through to Perth head office by 10am.
This was impossible because that only gave you an hour to do about 4 hours work.
I used to go in at 6am in order to get it done. Never got paid an extra cent for that extra 3 hours every week, and they wondered why I resigned??

 

[Clancieblue]

Yes, not good at all. I shop at Aldi and was disappointed to hear this.
I worked at a nursing home once, as secretary to the nursing unit manager. One of my jobs was to work out the wages of all employees and also the residents contributions
These had to be done on a set day and sent through to Perth head office by 10am.
This was impossible because that only gave you an hour to do about 4 hours work.
I used to go in at 6am in order to get it done. Never got paid an extra cent for that extra 3 hours every week, and they wondered why I resigned??

I worked in aged care for 36yrs and almost every staff member gave 30mins of their own time every day. Start 30mins early, no lunch break because there is no time to assist residents with their meals and leave late, because you can't drop a resident in the middle of a procedure. attend staff meetings after shift, not paid. Time clocks to clock on and off are only to make sure you are on shift, not to pay the overtime you work. Aged care staff are still doing this every day, and nobody cares. Most of these places call themselves not for profit and Christian organizations. How many times have you seen aged care workers go on strike?
God help them if something goes wrong though, they are made out to be worst in the world.

 

[Gsr]

I worked in aged care for 36yrs and almost every staff member gave 30mins of their own time every day. Start 30mins early, no lunch break because there is no time to assist residents with their meals and leave late, because you can't drop a resident in the middle of a procedure. attend staff meetings after shift, not paid. Time clocks to clock on and off are only to make sure you are on shift, not to pay the overtime you work. Aged care staff are still doing this every day, and nobody cares. Most of these places call themselves not for profit and Christian organizations. How many times have you seen aged care workers go on strike?
God help them if something goes wrong though, they are made out to be worst in the world.

Agree with everything you said. When I worked in aged care, for 15+ years, I never went home on time. I worked in caring for residents, then as an activity person. When I worked in activities I often went back at night to do paperwork which there was never time to do whilst at work, whenever I went shopping I was always looking for items to incorporate into activities and buying them out of my money, unless you had management permission to buy items you were never reimbursed. I organised all the outings for the clients and visits by musicians, church groups, etc. after I left the first facility I worked at I was told the other activity people couldn’t cope with the workload, no one ever realised how much I had done on my own. I left because management were heard telling different staff, clients families and top management that I didn’t really do much, and one of the other, dare I say it, suck up to bosses, activity person did so much she was amazing. Well, they all learnt what I did after I had left and all the extra things I had done began to fall by the wayside as no one bothered to take over organising them. I was treated much better at my next workplace until a new boss arrived, and once again one of the activity people became a suck up to boss person and got all the credit for doing everything, organising everything, she got praised up by the boss when we had an accreditation, got to sit in on the official accreditation presentation ceremony, while I was left out of it all and was expected to do the afternoon tea run for the residents. After that I left and was lucky to get a job at Bunnings, where I still work, and where I am appreciated for my hard work by management, and where I rarely don’t go home on time. As an add on, the day respite program I ran at the second facility was discontinued shortly after I left as they couldn’t get any staff who wanted to run it.

 

[GillyH]

I worked in aged care for 36yrs and almost every staff member gave 30mins of their own time every day. Start 30mins early, no lunch break because there is no time to assist residents with their meals and leave late, because you can't drop a resident in the middle of a procedure. attend staff meetings after shift, not paid. Time clocks to clock on and off are only to make sure you are on shift, not to pay the overtime you work. Aged care staff are still doing this every day, and nobody cares. Most of these places call themselves not for profit and Christian organizations. How many times have you seen aged care workers go on strike?
God help them if something goes wrong though, they are made out to be worst in the world.

I currently work in Aged Care, it has improved alot in the last few years. But if they can still get away with it they will. I work in Home Help so we now actually get paid for short notice cancellations. Use our own phone for all of our shifts, no allowance for that.

 

[Luckyus]

It's been a tough year for Australian shoppers. With the cost of living rising steadily, the pressure continues to squeeze household budgets ahead of Christmas.

And now, savvy Coles shoppers are trading down to more affordable alternatives when stocking up for both holiday celebrations and everyday meals.

Coles, Australia’s second-largest supermarket chain, has recorded a 3.6 per cent increase to $10.3 billion in group revenue between June and September, significantly boosted by a 9.4 per cent growth in private-label brands.

Chief Executive Leah Weckert shared that the budget strain is a big talking point among customers. With projections showing a 20 per cent increase in Australians looking to cook, eat and celebrate at home this year compared to last, Coles is prioritising the provision of more affordable product options.

View attachment 33215

Coles shoppers are trading down their expensive groceries for cheaper alternatives. Image source: Shutterstock.

'The big challenge, I think, is how do we make it increasingly easy for customers to find value in our stores,' Ms Weckert said.

'We’re very proactively doing things like reducing the cost of ham versus last year and finding really great value options, so customers can balance their budget.'

'That’s a huge focus area for us at the moment.'

According to Weckert, customers are turning away from pricier choices like champagne, craft beer, and steak in favour of lower-cost but no less delicious options like rosé, prosecco, mainstream beer brands, and minced meat.

'Customers are trading out of, for example, steaks into mince, or out of red meat into chickens, to find cheaper and more affordable alternatives for protein. Some of the other things we’re seeing is that they’re buying in bulk and then cooking in bulk and freezing at home,' Ms Weckert added.

Economic experts have also noted the possibility of two more rate increases before the new year, putting household budgets under more pressure. They also noted that customers will continue ‘trading down’ going into the holiday season.

However, Coles’ quarterly results didn't meet expectations, leaving the share price mostly in the red, resulting in a recovery of only 0.2 per cent by the end of the trading session. MST Marquee Senior Research Analyst Craig Woolford predicted the weaker trends would persist and possibly lead to small downgrades in earnings.

Interestingly, online sales have seen a significant boost. In-store Liquorland sales remained steady with a 1.8 per cent increase, but online liquor store sales sped ahead with an impressive 32.2 per cent growth for liquor purchases and 24.6 per cent for online grocery shopping.

'There [is] a cohort of customers that use online shopping to manage a budget. It prevents them from buying things impulsively when they go in-store,' Ms Weckert said.

Despite this shift, champagne and spirits will still have their place on the shelves, with expectations of them being popular festive-season gifts.

Hosted campaigns like the MasterChef cookware and the Curtis Stone BBQ collections are part of Coles' strategy to keep customers coming, which Weckert claims have successfully boosted sales.

'Those campaigns have been very successful in driving sales. They’re a key part of the trade plan going forward,' Ms Weckert added.

Coles, however, saw a decline in prices for fresh fruit and vegetables by 14.5 per cent due to last year's colder weather and La Niña flooding affecting growth conditions severely.

Still, overall food inflation, excluding tobacco and fresh produce, skyrocketed to 5.7 per cent due to increased prices for dairy goods like cheese, eggs, and oil. Higher wheat commodity prices have also impacted the prices of baked goods.

Coles is also reportedly battling a rise in theft and has implemented strict security measures at 250 branches that are most affected. This includes cameras that can determine if items were not scanned and 'smart gates' that lock the wheels of trolleys with items that have not been paid for.

Key Takeaways

• Coles saw a 3.6 per cent increase in group revenue to $10.3 billion between June and September, aided by 9.4 per cent growth in private-label brands.
• CEO Leah Weckert has highlighted cost-of-living pressures for customers and said the supermarket has made offering more affordable products a priority.
• Coles is also dealing with rising theft and plans to implement strict security measures in some of its stores.
• There has been a drastic increase in Coles' online liquor store sales, which soared by 32.2 per cent, followed by a 24.6 per cent increase in online grocery shopping.

Members, have you started shopping for the holidays? Do you have any tips on how to save during this festive season? Share them with us in the comments below!

I've always preferred the cheaper cuts of meat, but I must add knowing how to cook them to perfection is a bonus unfortunately the way things are going there will no longer be such a thing as a cheaper cut of meat unfortunately not so much the farmer but those supplying the end user are pricing meats out of the reach of the everyday battler. And the same thing is happening with fruit and vegetables?

 

[rehandra]

Wandered through Woolies the other day to see if they had anything to offer at a reasonable price. Couldn't find much so I walked across to Coles. They were even dearer on a lot of things than Woolies. Anyone who shops there doesn't care about money, doesn't understand value for money, or is too stuck in the mud to try anything else. I couldn't believe the differences in prices for pasta between Coles and ALDI, for example.

I am a very savvy shopper too and I am amazed at some of the higher prices. I refuse to purchase until I have checked out prices with Aldi now. Two weeks ago I wanted jar of Kantong sweet and sour sauce. $4 a bottle at Coles but got one for $2.99 at Aldi. This week I noticed Coles had reduced two for $7. I really hate when you have to buy two of things when you only want one.

 

[Simplelife]

I've always preferred the cheaper cuts of meat, but I must add knowing how to cook them to perfection is a bonus unfortunately the way things are going there will no longer be such a thing as a cheaper cut of meat unfortunately not so much the farmer but those supplying the end user are pricing meats out of the reach of the everyday battler. And the same thing is happening with fruit and vegetables?

I remember when butchers used to give me lamb shanks for my dogs for free! And who wanted lamb or pork shoulder when you could have a delicious leg roast ? Haha how times have changed. I love pulled pork or lamb shoulder - just can’t afford to buy it.