Sienna Seychell

Last edited: November 2023

The cost-of-living crisis this and that. I’m more than sure we are all familiar of the way our lives are being impacted due to the rising cost of living. As a supermarket employee I’m witnessing some of the biggest impacts of, ‘the price-gouging people’.

Each week I’m responsible for taking down the sales tickets and putting the new ones up. I see first-hand how rapidly the prices in supermarkets are increasing. With supermarkets taking advantage of this cost-of-living crisis they have witnessed great success. With both Coles and Woolworths profiting with, “$1.1 billion and $1.62 billion respectively for the full financial year.”

With The Greens party calling on the Victorian Labor parliament, “to introduce price controls on everyday supermarket items to prevent giants like Coles and Woolworths from price gouging and continuing to take struggling Victorians for a ride.”

A recent survey that The Greens directed has exposed that around 70 per cent of Victorians reported, “their mental health had been negatively impacted by cost-of-living pressures.” With, “Over 60 per cent of people also reported they had to put off accessing medical care because they could not afford it.”

Victorian Greens economic justice spokesperson, Sam Hibbins MP said that “A number of European governments are taking direct action to lower the cost of food whilst New Zealand is taking on its own supermarket duopoly.” Meanwhile Victorians and all Australians are left suffering the consequences of these supermarket giants.

First year university student Georgia Adams lives out of home. She is renting a few hours away from her hometown to be able to study in person. She is passionate about the cost-of-living crisis as it has affected her quality of life.

“The cost-of-living crisis has definitely affected the way I shop, I usually shop around sometimes online before going in store to compare prices and there’s definitely certain things I only buy on sale.” Ms Adams said.

Customers like Ms Adams are now constantly having to go to multiple stores, seeking out their essential household items wherever on special as the regular price is absurd.

Australians have been seen seeking alternatives and shopping away from the mainstream Coles and Woolworths. With new supermarket alternatives taking the spotlight in a world of shopping misery. Shops like Cheaper Buy Miles, NQR, and the Reject shop being the new hot topic.

Ms Adams also raises the concern of how supermarkets that price-gouge are affecting her quality of life.

“I definitely think the expenses associated with living out of home affect my mental health especially rent and balancing this all with university can be overwhelming.” Ms Adams said.

Although she doesn’t have to “go without”, she is still “strategic and will try to buy things that can be costly such as dishwasher tablets or olive oil when they are on sale and space(s) them out.”

Supermarkets are limiting people’s access to bare essential items with theft being on the rise. Rather than supermarkets decreasing the prices of items after the large profit they’ve made, they put their money into anti-theft measures within stores. With The Guardian reporting that, “The major supermarkets report(ed) an annual 20% rise in stock loss, which includes theft as well as food wastage.”

To combat this increasing loss Woolworths have implemented new technology in their self-checkouts called the Auror system. Auror sells itself to be, “The Retail Crime Intelligence Platform”. It began trials in Woolworths stores sometime in 2020 and is now in, “All Woolworths supermarket, Metro and Big W stores across the country…as a means of reporting antisocial and unlawful incidents including theft, abuse to team members and violence.” Although Woolworths are claiming that it is for the safety of their staff and not necessarily just to track theft.

Coles and Woolworths have now been seen to roll out smart gates and ‘trolley locks’ as another preventative theft measure. Staff at both Coles and Woolworths have been seen to wear bodycams as a way to deescalate “threatening situations” although many customers are alarmed by the measures that these companies are using to track theft.

Ms Adams believes that “Coles and Woolworths need to reconsider the way they use their profits and should consider the impact their prices have on the everyday lives of Australians.”

Overseas in the UK the major supermarkets have been exposed to much more parliamentary scrutiny surrounding price hikes. Although our government is yet to put forward any action surrounding this.

As the cost of living continues to sore, the government must act now. Australians deserve to be able to live without the burden and financial strain of skyrocketing food prices.