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Federal Government Targets Shrinkflation In Supermarket Prices Crackdown

The federal government is looking at ways to make it easier for shoppers to spot when a product is a victim of shrinkflation.

Shrinkflation is when the price of a product is maintained or increased, but the size reduces.

Coles and Woolworths have been found guilty of using the practice on some homebrand items.

Hear about the shrinkflation crackdown and more news on today’s headlines from The Briefing:

The government will discuss potential changes to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Price Unit Code, which requires larger supermarkets and grocers to provide cost-per-unit breakdowns on price tags in stores and online.

For example, price tags for liquid products show the price by cost per litre to allow customers to compare products.

The consultation will be had to consider the following changes:

  • Improving readability and visibility of unit pricing in stores,
  • Addressing inconsistent use of units of measure across supermarkets,
  • Whether to expand the scope of retailers covered by the code,
  • More specific prominence and legibility requirements, and
  • Improving the use of unit pricing in cross-retailer price comparisons.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, “tackling ‘shrinkflation’ through stronger unit pricing and new penalties is part of our plan to get a better deal for Australians”.

“We are also making changes to make sure the ACCC is a tough cop on the beat, while also encouraging more competition and making sure there are significant consequences for supermarkets who do the wrong thing.”

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