Woolworths Group Ltd will reduce the shelf prices of nearly 400 everyday grocery products from May 14 in a bid to address household cost-of-living pressures and respond to mounting political and consumer scrutiny over high food prices.
The pricing initiative marks the first major strategic move by new chief executive officer Amanda Bardwell, who earlier this year committed to cutting A$400 million in operational costs. Woolworths now intends to pass some of those savings on to consumers, with the average price of selected products falling by 10%.
The move also escalates competition with Coles Group Ltd, which has outpaced Woolworths in recent sales growth and gained a reputation among some shoppers as the more affordable option.
Woolworths stated the reductions would apply in-store and online across a broad range of private-label and branded household staples, including schnitzel, Greek yoghurt, bacon, frozen berries, Woolworths oats, Coca-Cola, Babylove Nappies and Maggi noodles. These prices will remain in place until at least 2026.
Woolworths estimates a typical household spending A$150 per week could save about A$15 through the lower-priced items.
“Customers consistently tell us they need more value from their shop, and that they expect us to do more to help,” said Bardwell on Monday. “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.”
“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,” Bardwell added.
The pricing reset also follows recent political developments, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s pledge to introduce legislation targeting supermarket ‘price gouging’. Woolworths, along with Coles, has come under sustained scrutiny from parliamentary inquiries and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which has taken legal action over allegedly misleading discounting practices.
Woolworths confirmed it will continue expanding the Lower Shelf Price program over the coming months.