* Woolworths and Coles have been accused of raising prices of certain goods by at least 15 per cent before placing them on their "Prices Dropped" and "Down Down" promotions respectively
* These prices were lower than the spike, but higher than or the same as the original price, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer CommissionÂ
THE CASE AGAINST WOOLWORTHS
* Woolworths is facing court on Tuesday over the allegations
* The ACCC says this conduct involved 266 products for Woolworths at different times across 20 months between late 2021 and mid-2023
* This has been pared down to 12 items that will be scrutinised in court, including a Tim Tams family pack, Carman's classic fruit and nut muesli bars and Sakata rice crackers
* Woolworths has said it fundamentally disagrees with the claims and, at no stage, misled or deceived its customers
* A spokesperson maintained there was a period of "extraordinary inflation" after the coronavirus pandemic and said inflation had put pressure on suppliers' costs
THE CASE AGAINST COLES
* Coles most recently faced court over the issue in late February
* The ACCC alleged its conduct applied to 245 products at Coles across 15 months between February 2022 and May 2023
* Products in question include Arnott's Shapes biscuits, Band-Aids and Cadbury chocolates
* Coles' lawyer John Sheahan KC argued the "Down Down" prices were genuine discounts for shoppers after an increase in wholesale costs during a post-COVID inflation surge
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