It feels like the battle over whether Franklins can be acquired by IGA’s parent company Metcash has been going on forever, but we finally have a conclusion. Yesterday the Federal Court rejected an appeal by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) against the deal, meaning it can now go ahead. What does that mean, for shoppers and the ACCC? More »
When Woolworths launched its Woolworths Mobile month-by-month mobile service in August, it said it also planned to maintain its Everyday Mobile prepaid option. But there’s obviously been a change of heart, with Woolworths stopping new subscribers signing up to the prepaid service at the end of October and planning to switch off the service altogether at the end of March 2012. More »
Woolworths has said it plans to double the number of house brands it sells through its supermarkets, reigniting the longstanding battle between those who favour the cheaper prices that house brands bring and those who feel their range of choice is stifled as supermarkets favour their own products over others. But which house brand goods have the biggest market share? More »
Supermarket 101: just because there’s a big sign suggesting a bargain doesn’t mean there’s actually a meaningful discount. Yes, little savings add up, but the difference between $10 and $9.88 hardly seems worth printing this particular poster. For more practical supermarket shopping tips, check out our top 10 ways to save on supermarket shopping. Thanks Wendy for the pic!
While bricks and mortar retailing might be under threat, supermarkets are embracing the online age with smartphone apps that help you create a shopping list and find a supermarket. Here’s our round-up of what’s on offer. More »
Back in August, regular commenter poedgirl alerted us to the fact that items on sale in Coles didn’t always have unit pricing accurately indicated. It seems Coles might have become more efficient at that process, with specials now correctly showing unit pricing. More »
The question of whether supermarket house brands offer the same quality as branded alternatives is one we visit quite frequently This video from Mumbrella demonstrates that whatever the contents of the box, house brand manufacturers (Coles in this case) go to a lot of trouble to make their products look like name brand versions, with similar colours, photos and designs. More »
Discount online grocery retailing has been a fairly quiet space in Australia (the two major chains aside), but competition is starting to increase. GroceryRun.com.au offers discounts on a bunch of brand-name goods, but only sells them two days a week. More »
Coles’ FlyBuys has recently joined Woolworths’ Everyday Rewards in offering “activated rewards”: deals which only apply if you click on a link to activate them and then spend a specified amount of money within a specified time frame. Lifehacker’s advice on these remains unchanged: they’re a good idea if they offer you a saving on something you actually needed to buy anyway, but not otherwise. More »
Clearly our prediction that all Franklins stores would soon be rebranded as IGA was a little premature. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) just announced it is going to appeal the Federal Court decision which said that Franklins could be sold off to Metcash despite ACCC objections, and it looks like the Foxtel/Austar merger is a factor. More »
