Surprising items Aussies giving up
Coles says Australians are changing their spending habits and cutting back where they can as value-conscious shoppers continue to curb discretionary spending.
Coles chief executive Leah Weckert said the supermarket giant's sales data for the three months until the end of March showed customers had cut back on treats, including lollies, alcohol, reduced their meat intake and ditching bottled water.
She also said customers were also looking for heavily discounted stock to buy when on their weekly shop. Coles says shoppers are still looking for heavily discounted stock. NewsWire / James Gourley Credit: Supplied
'Our most popular and well-performing specials would be the ones that are 40 to 50 per cent off,' Ms Weckert said.
'We have announced big promotions that are really relevant to customers instead of lots of small ones.'
Ms Weckert said prices of health and home category products dropped during the period, while coffee and cocoa prices rose as shoppers prepared for Easter.
Overall, prices rose 1.5 per cent across the supermarket. Excluding tobacco, supermarket inflation was 1.1 per cent.
'Continued increases in livestock costs impact inflation in meat, particularly across the lamb, pork and poultry categories,' Ms Weckert said.
'Inflation, excluding tobacco and fresh, moved into deflation at -0.3 per cent, with deflation in the health and home category offsetting continued inflation across categories impacted by higher coffee and cocoa prices, such as confectionery, boxed chocolates and coffee.'
Coles announced group sales revenues lifted to $10.4bn in the third quarter, up $400m for this time last year on the back of its supermarket segment. Coles announced sales rose by $400m over the third quarter. NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia
Supermarket sales revenue came in at $9.4bn for the third quarter, up 3.7 per cent. If tobacco was taken out, sales revenue increased by 4.7 per cent.
Sales revenue for the business's liquor division was $813m for the third quarter, down 2 per cent on last year.
However, comparable sales were impacted by the timing of Easter Sunday, which fell in the prior corresponding period.
'While the liquor market continues to be impacted by subdued discretionary spending, sales revenue was underpinned by strong execution across events, such as Australia Day, and a reset of our value offer across all stores to deliver a more compelling offer for customers,' Ms Weckert told investors.
Coles said in the early part of the fourth quarter, supermarket sales remained broadly in line with the third quarter, although it expects an increase in liquor sales over the Easter period.
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