Australia’s consumer watchdog has filed lawsuits against Woolworths and Coles, the country’s two largest supermarket chains, alleging they misled shoppers about discounts on hundreds of products. The legal action comes amid a cost-of-living crisis and heightened scrutiny of the supermarket giants for high prices. The watchdog claims the companies inflated prices before advertising them as ‘sale’ prices, which were actually higher than the original prices. The lawsuits could result in significant penalties for the companies and have already caused their share prices to drop.
