Commerce Commission 'watching with interest' as legal action taken against Australian supermarkets

The outcome of an investigation into supermarket pricing practices is expected by the end of this year, the Commerce Commission says.

Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission on Tuesday launched legal action against Woolworths and Coles, alleging they breached consumer law by misleading customers through discount pricing claims on hundreds of products, local media report.

A spokesperson for the Commerce Commission said it would be "watching with interest" to see what lessons could be applied to the New Zealand market.

"The Commerce Commission is investigating Woolworths NZ, Foodstuffs South Island, and Foodstuffs North Island in relation to their pricing and promotional practices, with an outcome expected by the end of this year."

Consumer NZ spokesperson Jessica Walker said her organisation had just finished another round of data collection, following on from 2020 work that found shoppers might be being misled by supermarket promotions.

"We think we could see some patterns repeated."

She pointed to the Commerce Commission's market study which had raised concerns about misleading pricing and incorrect charges at the checkout.

But Walker said it was not just a supermarket issue.

"Back in late 2021 we called out specials at Briscoes, Farmers, Harvey Norman and Noel Leeming too, after monitoring some of their pricing practices for 13 weeks."

Woolworths has been approached for comment.