The Australian supermarket scene is dominated by two big players: Woolworths and Coles. But those aren’t the only choices.
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According to Roy Morgan figures, in December 2013 Woolworths had 39 per cent of the market, and Coles had 33 per cent. ALDI has 10.3 per cent but is the fastest-growing chain, and IGA had 9.5 per cent. The remaining 7.7 per cent includes Costco and other small players.
Depending on where you live, you may have no choice about where to shop, or a selection available just minutes away. So we’re wondering:
Feel free to expand on your reasoning in the comments.
Comments
18 responses to “Which Supermarket Do You Usually Shop At?”
For my big shops – typically Woolworths due to cost and location. But smaller shops, Supabarn in Canberra. Only downside is that they are super pricey.
Which ever has the best deals. What’s the point of loyalty with supermarkets? I guess Coles since they have better sales and closer to me.
Woolworths is mentioned twice. I presume IGA has the 9.5%?
Correct — fixed now, thanks for the spot.
I usually shop at Aldi or Costco. Both of these are inconvenient, and neither stock everything I need, so I always need to go to Woolworths (Coles is even less convenient than Aldi and Costco for me). I would do all my shopping at Woolworths, but they lose almost all my business because their milk is, without fail, already off by the time they stock it, even with several days before the “best by” date. If Woolworths could source/store their milk properly, then I would probably do nearly all my shopping there.
Must say I now only do the weekly shop at woolworths for the frequent flyer points via everyday rewards but will check specials etc most weeks at competitors and adjust where necessary
I used to go to aldi for certain things. but their customer service is terrible. its not worth the savings of $1 per product seriously. at 3pm the stores are full. and there is 1 cashier. its horrendous.
Do the big shops at Woolworths, but will swing by Coles if there is a decent special on, especially if it’s for gluten free muesli bars. Coles ‘Super Specials’ on fruit and veg are also pretty damned cheap.
I know I’ve fallen for their strategy, but I’m locked into the Everyday Rewards thing. My points go to Qantas frequent flyers, and if you are smart with the bonus points, it’s surprising how quickly a free flight comes around. Interestingly, Caltex-Woolworths also give away Myer one points, so you can use your fuel discount and pick up Myer One points at the same time.
I try and avoid fruit shopping at Woolworths, the three near me always have sub-par fruit. The local fruit shop is generally cheaper and is a lot fresher.
aldi first, than pick up what i can’t get there at woolies.. i save at least $80 a week this way
I use ColesOnline about once a month for non perishables, try to make it to the markets for fresh fruit and veg at least once a fortnight, and buy everything else at Woolworths (we have a fancy one across the road that’s somewhere between a Woolworths and a Thomas Dux. It’s too expensive for me to buy everything from… but its SO convenient).
What about FoodWorks?
It’s an ‘other’ in percentage terms. (My nearby Foodworks is now a pet supply store . . .)
Foodland (IGA) for most perishables and “nice” food items … mainly due to the range and rare things they stock. Also they flag Aussie and SA products which we try to buy vs imports.
Woolies for non-food staples as they’re much cheaper and have larger bulk packs.
Fruit and veg from a local shop as they have local produce, it’s way better quality than any of the big retailers and without much greater expense. Similar for meat/fish … local butcher way better than supermarket and cut to order etc.
I was a Coles fan but the 2 stores I used to go to have slowly become barren with increasingly empty shelves and / or cartons of stock littering the aisles.
Woolies I find crowded and claustrophobic with narrow aisle and dull lighting.
Costco is good for stocking up, but not regular shopping.
The local IGA is limited in what it stocks.
I feel lost in the supermarket wilderness!
location is definitely the deciding factor
all of them really, i like to look for bargians, also some aldi food taste better then woolworths and visa versa
Well we shop at Coles, Woolies & Aldi since they’re all in my town and they all offer better prices on something that the other doesn’t or one sells a better quality product of something that the other doesn’t etc.. But for the most part fruit & vege we buy at one of the 3 local fruit shops & meat we buy at one of 4 local butchers. In the end the shopping around is worth it since they’re all within a 5km radius (if that large) and we get the best out of our dollar.
Also the independant fruit & vege shops here stock a lot of local produce which is not only great quality it is cheap sometimes upto half the price of coles or woolworths. Same deal with the butchers, they’re usually somewhere around 50% cheaper than coles or woolworths on meat.
Aldi, Coles, and Woolworths. All three are close together so I don’t need to worry about wasting time or petrol going to each one. They also have different specials, and each stock different things I like or need. For example, my cats refuse to use anything other than the Woolworths brand of kitty litter or eat anything other than Woolworth’s brand of canned cat food, meanwhile the only brand of cat biscuits they eat is Coles brand (they’re picky, but at least they have the decency of liking the cheap stuff. I mean, if they can’t have tuna that’s fit for human consumption). For them alone I have to go to Coles and Safeway otherwise I might wake up one day without toes (one has a toe fetish). /crazy cat lady ramblings
But yeah, I’m not particularly loyal to any one supermarket.