Australia Supermarket Price Transparency Market Data Report 2026 for FMCG Supplier Intelligence

Introduction

Australia supermarket price transparency has moved from a consumer issue to a board-level topic for FMCG suppliers. The ACCC's Supermarkets Inquiry final report, released on 21 March 2025, found the sector is "highly concentrated with an oligopoly structure, dominated by Coles and Woolworths", and that more than half of products bought at Coles and Woolworths are on promotion. A mandatory Food and Grocery Code of Conduct has applied since 1 April 2025, and the Grocery Unit Pricing Code is under review.

In short: Australia supermarket price transparency data means public shelf prices, promotion labels, unit prices, pack sizes and availability, collected on a regular schedule from Coles, Woolworths, ALDI, IGA and other retailers, normalised to AUD per unit and mapped to your products. FMCG suppliers use it to check price position, promotion depth and pack-size changes by state, retailer and week.

This report covers market structure, promotion and unit-price mechanics, store and postcode sampling, loyalty pricing, seasonal events and supplier metrics. Official figures are cited; our measured values appear as placeholders until your category scope is agreed.

What does the Australian supermarket market look like in 2026?

The ACCC estimates that Woolworths has 38% of supermarket grocery sales nationally, Coles 29%, ALDI 9%, and Metcash – as a proxy for the independent supermarkets it supplies, such as IGA stores – 7% (ACCC final report, p. 1). The report adds that Coles and Woolworths together hold two-thirds of supermarket grocery sales, and that Metcash-supplied independents have been losing share over time at a national level.

The ACCC also found that ALDI, Coles and Woolworths are "some of the most profitable supermarket businesses among global peers". It described ALDI as a hard discounter that constrains Coles and Woolworths on a more limited range of products, so supplier comparisons must separate like-for-like branded items from private-label ranges.

Other channels matter too: Costco Australia (bulk packs), Amazon Australia (online pantry and household), Harris Farm Markets (fresh and premium) and Chemist Warehouse (health and beauty). The ACCC did not publish shares for these, so we do not estimate them.

Source for shares: ACCC Supermarkets Inquiry final report (released 21 March 2025).

How do price and promotion mechanics work, and what has the ACCC said?

Australian grocery promotions follow a weekly rhythm: half-price specials, multibuys ("2 for $X"), longer-term reductions under branded programmes such as Woolworths "Prices Dropped" and Coles "Down Down", everyday low pricing and catalogue features. The ACCC noted that these practices can make value for money hard to assess.

In September 2024 the ACCC began Federal Court proceedings against Woolworths and Coles over certain "Prices Dropped" and "Down Down" claims. It alleged that, for 266 Woolworths products and 245 Coles products, regular prices were raised by at least 15% for a short period before the products were promoted at a price at or above the earlier regular price. On 14 May 2026 the ACCC reported that the Federal Court found Coles made false or misleading representations about its "Down Down" discounts, with penalties to be decided later. At that date the Court had reserved judgment in the separate Woolworths case. We report these matters only as stated by the ACCC.

For suppliers, a promotion label alone does not show the real discount. A price history per product lets the "was" price be checked against the regular price observed in earlier weeks. The ACCC also recommended minimum information requirements for discount promotions (Recommendation 4).

How should unit prices be compared across Australian retailers?

Unit pricing is the most useful single field for comparing value across pack sizes and retailers. Large Australian grocery retailers display unit prices under the Grocery Unit Pricing Code, a prescribed industry code. In its final report the ACCC supported the government's proposal to consult on changes to the code (Recommendation 5), and recommended that supermarkets publish notices when pack sizes change in a way that is adverse to consumers (Recommendation 6).

Treasury opened consultation on strengthening the code on 1 September 2025. The options included improving the readability and prominence of unit prices, fixing inconsistent units of measure, expanding the range of retailers covered, introducing a shrinkflation notification regime and applying civil penalties. Public submissions dated May 2026 refer to a further targeted Treasury consultation on unit pricing reforms. Check Treasury for the current status before relying on any final rule.

Because displayed units vary (per 100 g, per kg, per each), we recalculate unit prices from shelf price and parsed pack size, then check them against the retailer's displayed figure.

Our measured cross-retailer unit-price gap for your categories: Pending.

Do supermarket prices differ by state, region and postcode?

The ACCC found that price competition between the major chains generally takes place on a national or state-wide basis, and that consumers in some regional areas can benefit from these pricing policies. It also found that grocery prices may be significantly higher in remote locations, with higher freight costs a significant contributor, and that some remote stores did not display price labels. The ACCC supports a requirement for all stores to display prices.

So one national price is not enough. Online prices and availability at Coles and Woolworths depend on the selected store or postcode. A sound design samples a fixed postcode panel in each state and territory, including regional and remote locations, and keeps it stable so week-on-week changes are real.

Record postcode and store ID with every price. Independent stores need their own sample because owners set prices.

The final postcode panel is agreed per project.

How should loyalty pricing (Flybuys, Everyday Rewards) be treated?

Coles runs the Flybuys programme and Woolworths runs Everyday Rewards. The ACCC found that "it can be difficult for consumers to assess how much value they obtain from loyalty programs". It recommended that Coles and Woolworths give members periodic loyalty information summaries (Recommendation 7), and that loyalty practices be reviewed in three years (Recommendation 8).

We record loyalty information only where it is publicly displayed on a product page without signing in, such as a points offer or a member price shown to every visitor, and keep it in separate fields from the shelf price. We do not log in, collect personalised offers or collect member data.

Which seasonal events shape Australian grocery and FMCG pricing?

Australian grocery pricing follows a weekly cycle, but several annual events change promotion intensity and category focus. Easter (chocolate, hot cross buns, seafood), the end of the financial year in June (household, health and online bulk buying), the Click Frenzy online sale events, Black Friday and Cyber Monday in late November, and Christmas (confectionery, beverages, entertaining) all deserve their own measurement windows.

Chemist Warehouse and Amazon Australia matter more around EOFY, Click Frenzy and Black Friday than around the weekly catalogue. Compare each event window with a baseline of several normal weeks: which products were promoted, for how long, and was the regular price stable beforehand?

How can an FMCG supplier measure its competitive position?

Price data becomes useful when it is turned into a few stable metrics that category and key-account teams review each week.

Food price inflation is the context for every conversation with a retailer. The ABS reports that annual inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages was 3.0% in the 12 months to August 2026, compared with headline CPI of 4.0% (ABS, released 30 September 2026). A supplier can compare its own shelf-price movement with this official benchmark, but should label any comparison as indicative, because the CPI basket is not the same as a supplier's range.

Under the Food and Grocery Code, which is mandatory for supermarkets and wholesalers with more than $5 billion in annual supermarket or grocery wholesale revenue, suppliers have protections such as written grocery supply agreements, good-faith dealing and protection from retribution. Accurate, time-stamped shelf data helps suppliers prepare fact-based conversations with retailers. This report does not give legal advice on the code.

Is collecting public supermarket price data allowed under Australian privacy law?

The Privacy Act 1988 regulates personal information. The OAIC explains that personal information is information or an opinion that could identify an individual, depending on whether the person is identified or reasonably identifiable in the circumstances. Public shelf prices, promotion labels, unit prices and pack sizes are information about products, not about people.

Actowiz collects only publicly available business data, respects site terms, does not log in or bypass access controls, and does not collect personal data such as reviewer identities or loyalty member details. This is general information, not legal advice; your legal team should review any use case.

How Actowiz Solutions Helps

The requirement types we see most often in Australia in 2026 are weekly product and price feeds for Coles, Woolworths and ALDI Australia, and Coles product data with promotion price, stock status and pack size. We build around those needs.

• Retailer and postcode coverage. Coles, Woolworths, ALDI, IGA stores with public online prices, Costco Australia (prices only, no UPC/GTIN mapping), Amazon Australia, Harris Farm and Chemist Warehouse, across an agreed postcode panel.
• Freshness you choose. Weekly feeds aligned to the catalogue cycle, with daily collection available for key SKUs or event windows such as EOFY and Black Friday.
• Comparable fields. Shelf, promo and "was" price, offer text, standardised unit price, pack size, availability, store ID, postcode and timestamp, with cross-retailer matching.
• Delivery in your stack. REST API, CSV or JSON files, or direct delivery to Amazon S3, Snowflake, Google BigQuery or Azure, with an agreed SLA for delivery times.
• Quality assurance. Automated checks for missing fields, price outliers and unit-price mismatches, plus sample-based human review of product matches.
• Security and usage rights. Public business data only, collected in line with site terms; access-controlled delivery; usage terms agreed in writing. Results from past projects.

Conclusion

Australian supermarket pricing is under closer official scrutiny than at any time in recent years. The ACCC has described a concentrated market, found that more than half of products bought at the two largest chains are on promotion, and recommended more price transparency, including online price publication by ALDI, Coles and Woolworths and dynamic price APIs from Coles and Woolworths. A mandatory Food and Grocery Code now applies to the largest retailers and wholesalers, and the Unit Pricing Code is being reviewed.

For FMCG suppliers, the answer is a consistent, well-sampled public price dataset – standardised unit prices, promotion depth against price history, postcode coverage, separate loyalty fields and pack-size flags – so teams can measure their position each week with evidence.

Request the full report or an enterprise sample (48-hour turnaround) – use your company email and tell us your categories, retailers, states and refresh frequency.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Australia supermarket price transparency data?

Public shelf price, promotion, unit price, pack size and availability data from Australian grocery retailers, collected on a schedule, standardised to AUD per unit and matched across retailers.

Which retailers does this report cover?

Coles, Woolworths, ALDI Australia, IGA and other Metcash-supplied independents with public online prices, Costco Australia (prices only, without UPC/GTIN mapping), Amazon Australia, Harris Farm Markets and Chemist Warehouse for health and beauty.

Do you collect Flybuys or Everyday Rewards member prices?

Only where a loyalty offer or member price is publicly shown on a product page without signing in. We do not log in, collect personalised offers or collect any member data.

How often is the data refreshed?

Weekly is the standard for catalogue-cycle analysis. Daily collection can be set up for priority SKUs or for event windows. Freshness and delivery times are agreed in the SLA.

How quickly can we see a sample?

We aim to deliver an enterprise sample within 48 hours of agreeing scope. Use your company email and tell us your retailers, categories, states and refresh frequency.