watchdog Choice confused.  “Over the past year, Choice has found countless examples of dodgy and confusing specials at both Coles and Woolworths,” said Bea Sherwood, Choice Senior Campaigns and Policy Advisor. Choice released its findings for its latest survey which indicate that one in four consumers is finding it hard to identify a true discount with the economic backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis.  Choice is looking for the real deal Supermarkets are where Australians feel cost-of-living pressures the most, and food inflation is far from a myth. “While the two major supermarkets each post over a billion dollars in profit, many households are at breaking point from the rising cost of food,” said Sherwood. On top of the ongoing price gouging accusations, Choice is now raising concerns about supermarkets making it hard for consumers to determine if they are getting value for money.  “Consumers deserve clear and transparent pricing so they can be sure they’re actually getting value for money. We need new rules to force the supermarkets to provide this transparency, as well as powers for the regulator to make sure the supermarket giants are playing fair,” said Sherwood.  “To make matters worse, supermarkets are using a number of confusing promotional practices that make it very difficult for customers to work out if they’re actually saving money on their groceries or not,” added Sherwood. Promotions with no real savings  Macquarie Business School marketing professor Jana Bowden told Inside Retail that while much of consumers’ confusion arises from inconsistent pricing approaches between supermarkets, it’s also driven by cleverly designed sales strategies. Bowden cited the example of red and yellow price tags that consumers have become primed to associate with a sale or special.  “This is then used as a decision-making shortcut, what we call a heuristic in consumer psychology, to make decision-making faster and more efficient,” explained Bowden. “Colour is an emotional trigger to buy since colour directly influences consumers’ subjective judgements about product pricing, and if consumers are using it to make buying decisions, then many will simply not take time to read the pricing fine print,” she added. Bowden acknowledged that supermarkets are businesses that are trying to make a sale. Nevertheless, she believes the increasing pressure on the sector to deliver transparency, equity and fairness in pricing will require some shifts in promotions. “That might mean changing pricing policies and standardising advertising approaches, signals or cues across the category, demarking genuine sales more clearly and openly so that prices are not misrepresented, and providing consumers with better information and ability to track historical prices over time and compared to specific timing reference points to support transparency so that consumers are not misled,” said Bowden. The price of groceries is having a very real effect on Australians, and supermarkets might have to answer for this downward pressure if the ACCC inquiry finds that consumers are buying goods at high prices under false premises. “The latest data shows that 50 per cent of Australian families are now reporting elevated cost-of-living and personal debt stress according to Suicide Prevention Australia,” shared Bowden. “There’s a fine line between making money as a business and ensuring that it is done in an ethical and fair way,” she concluded.