QUEENSLANDERS are paying more than residents of other states for products that grocery giant Coles is promoting in its Prices are Down campaign.
A survey of catalogues for different states shows that regional price variation still exists, despite the company standardising prices across several lines.
Queensland is paying higher prices than NSW and Victoria across several specials in the catalogue.
A six-pack of Quilton toilet tissue is $4.19 in NSW and $4.40 in Queensland.
White Wings Corn Flour 300g is $2.24 in NSW and $2.42 in Queensland, while Twinings Tea Bags 10 pack is $1.64 in Victoria and $1.73 in Queensland.
"It just proves that Coles and Woolworths will charge what they can get away with," competition expert Frank Zumbo, from the University of NSW, said yesterday.
"And they can get away with it in particular in places where there is no ALDI or IGA.
"You'll also notice big variations in prices for fruit and vegetables across the regions.
"If there's a big, independent fruiterer based near a Coles or Woolworths, prices will be much lower in those stores compared to stores where there isn't one nearby."
A survey conducted by The Courier-Mail this week of home-brands across ALDI, Coles and Woolworths in
three regions shows that prices have stabilised or fallen across a number of categories compared to last year. But prices in some categories also rose.
Mother-of-two Inna Roos, 28, from Hawthorne in Brisbane's inner-east, said she spent at least $250 a week on groceries.
"There are lots of sales but to tell you the truth I haven't noticed that my weekly bill has got any cheaper," she said.
"The cost of food is quite expensive."
Ms Roos said she often shopped at different grocery stores.
"I just go to wherever it's convenient for me," she said.
"And I guess I do look at price."
Interior designer Nichole Valk, 26, from the inner-Brisbane suburb of Teneriffe, said her bill had not gone down since the price-cut promotions began.
"There's lots of specials, but my bill is still about $150 a week – it hasn't really changed," she said. "It's come down a little bit maybe, but not noticeably."
Mr Zumbo said it was only realistic to expect prices to come down because of the strength of the Australian dollar over the past year.
"Woolworths says it has reduced around 4000 items, but typically any Woolworths store carries between 20,000 to 40,000 lines – so what about the other 25,000 items?" Mr Zumbo asked.
"This sort of campaign is only window-dressing. It's second-rate compared to what we should be getting.
"Coles and Woolworths should be putting all their prices on to their websites and updating that information in real time."
A spokeswoman for Coles said there had been "insufficient customer demand for our grocery prices to be displayed publicly".
A spokesman for Woolworths said the price cuts were not a reaction to current market conditions.
"We can cut our prices because we've spent a decade driving down the costs of our business and becoming more efficient so we can use those gains to reward our customers with savings," he said.
Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said that while supermarkets were claiming prices were coming down, they were not saying by how much.
"At best I would say that prices have stabilised," Mr Zinn said.
