What Woolworths announced
Woolworths said on Monday 12 May 2025 that it would cut shelf prices on almost 400 products by an average of 10 per cent, with the new prices taking effect on Wednesday 14 May in store and online. The company is running the reductions under a program it calls Lower Shelf Price, and said the prices would be held at least until 2026. It is the largest shelf-price reduction the company has announced in recent years.
The reduction covers own brand and branded lines. Woolworths said a family spending $150 a week on groceries could save about $15 a week once the new prices were in place, a saving of roughly 10 per cent on that weekly basket.
Examples released by the company include chicken schnitzels 600g, reduced from $10.50 to $9; Greek yoghurt 1kg, from $4.20 to $3.80; Coca-Cola 2L, from $4.20 to $3.70; middle bacon 1kg, from $13 to $11.70; frozen mixed berries 1kg, from $12 to $11; Babylove nappies in bulk, from $18 to $16; and white sandwich bread, from $2.50 to $2.40.
The products will stay eligible for weekly specials, the company said, so shoppers can still find them discounted during promotional periods. Woolworths said the 10 per cent figure is an average across the range, not a uniform reduction on every product.
What Woolworths says
Woolworths managing director Amanda Bardwell framed the decision around household budgets and the pressure shoppers are under. “We know that managing household budgets continues to be challenging for our customers”
She said the change would begin on Wednesday and would apply both in store and online. “Today marks the start of a real, tangible change customers will see on the shelf prices of hundreds of products when they shop with us, both in-store and online. And it’s just the beginning”
Bardwell said the move was not a short-term promotion. “This isn’t just a short-term promotion; it’s about lower shelf prices on the products we know customers regularly shop for, and providing genuine, lasting and dependable value they can count on”
Woolworths said the individual prices would add up for shoppers over a full basket. “Individually, each lower shelf price might not seem like a dramatic difference, but they will add up to real savings.”
The company said it would add hundreds more products to the program in the coming weeks and months, without giving a final figure.
Coles responds
Coles answered the same day, saying more than 680 products would be placed on Down Down with average savings of 21 per cent, alongside more than 1,000 products at half price from Wednesday.
Coles said the reductions formed part of its continuing value offer to customers. “Our promotions reflect seasonal availability to reward customers with savings on their favourite products”
The chain said further winter savings would follow for customers in the months ahead.
Each company supplied its own figures, and the two programs cover different product ranges. The chains announced their price changes on the same day.
The regulator in the background
The announcements landed against the ACCC’s March 2025 supermarkets inquiry final report, which found Woolworths, Coles and ALDI among the most profitable supermarket chains in the world by margin, with average product margins up over five financial years.
The inquiry examined competition in the supermarket sector and recommended clearer unit pricing and a price monitoring function.
Separately, the ACCC began Federal Court proceedings in September 2024 alleging misleading discount promotions. Both chains deny the allegations.
Consumer group Choice has criticised shrinkflation, the practice of reducing product sizes while holding or raising prices.
The economics
AMP economist My Bui, writing via The Nightly, said the reductions reflected cautious consumers and elevated food inflation rather than a fix for inflation itself.
She said the cuts were a response to how shoppers are behaving. She characterised the announcements as competition between the chains rather than an all-out price war. “The consumer spending recovery in Australia is still very gradual and fragile”
The company has framed the program as a lasting change rather than a promotion, and it has promised to hold the prices at least until 2026.
The Nightly reported that the cuts form part of a push to regain market share in the competition with Coles and ALDI. The cuts arrive as households continue to adjust their spending on essentials, and as both supermarket chains face pressure to show value on the shelf.
Related: Why Bunnings’ Price Promise Fails on 9,000 Home Brands
Sources: Woolworths Group, https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/au/en/our-newsroom/media-releases/latest-news/2025/woolworths-lowers-the-shelf-price-on-hundreds-of-basket-essentia.html; 7NEWS, https://7news.com.au/news/aussie-supermarket-giant-woolworths-cuts-price-of-everyday-grocery-items-c-18663409; The Nightly, https://thenightly.com.au/business/woolworths-slashes-prices-on-key-products-in-move-to-regain-market-share-in-coles-aldi-battle-c-18662258
Photo: Orderinchaos, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Illustrative: the front of a Woolworths supermarket at Lakeside Joondalup, Western Australia, photographed in November 2020. The photograph does not show any product or store described in the article.
