A budget-conscious pasta lover scolded Woolworths for claiming they’d lower the price of essentials.
The Reddit user posted a photo of the store’s own brand of noodles appearing on the shelf above a red $1.25 “off-the-shelf” tag.
In the caption, they said, “The audacity of woollens to claim that the price went down when pasta cost 90 cents for years.”
The shopper wasn’t the only one who was disgusted by the dozens of other shoppers who complained about rising shopping costs.
The Reddit user posted a photo of his own branded spaghetti appearing on the shelf above the red $1.25 “offer price” tag.
“It’s a shame to call it a price drop when it’s more expensive than it was in 2019,” said one man.
Price increases and “embarrassing price drops” were not limited to the pasta department or large-scale distribution.
“It happens to all supermarkets, it’s like they think we’re all stupid and don’t know how much each item is,” said one angry customer.
Some were very specific about their rants in the mail.
“My coffee machine was $11, then skyrocketed to $20 for a few weeks. And now it costs $14,” one man said.
Then they say, ‘$20 to $14,’ take the other foot,” he added.
Others complained that sodas have been on the rise for years, with “sales used to distract shoppers.”
“Oddly enough, soda was the first thing I decided to cut back on when costs started to drop. I’m not ready to pay that much for something I can replace with a few glasses of water a day and still feel better about,” said one woman.
”Comparable to 2-liter bottles. They went from $2 to $3 for a few weeks at Woolworths, then back to $2.20 labeled OP. So it’s deceiving,” they said.
Some people advocated the increase in supermarket prices due to rising operating costs, but they were outnumbered.
“The last time I went shopping, I left the shopping cart in the middle of the store and went to Aldi because each item I bought was 20-30% more expensive than it was three months ago. Aldi hasn’t raised its prices either, it’s just where I can afford it all. Big chains have made record profits, they haven’t increased staff salaries, and they’re raising prices much more than fuel costs, but no one seems to be talking about it, ”complained one person.
“It’s okay to blame fuel and inflation, but what happens when everything goes down again, I bet our supermarket prices won’t go down.”
Woolworths has already responded to complaints about price increases, noting that they are a response to “inflationary pressures in the industry”.
“We always try to find the right balance to deliver high quality and affordable fresh produce to our customers while paying our suppliers a fair market price,” a spokesperson said.
Coles described the price increases as “increases in raw material costs, increases in energy prices, transportation costs, extreme weather events and the continued impact of Covid-19.”
Source: Daily Mail
