The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched a major court case against supermarket giant Coles. The ACCC claims Coles misled shoppers by disguising price increases on at least 245 products as discounts. The case began on Monday in a federal court in Melbourne. The watchdog says Coles used a strategy called “was/is” comparative pricing. This involved holding prices at a certain level for months, then raising them temporarily before cutting them slightly for the “Down Down” promotion. A key example given was Nature’s Gift wet dog food sold by Coles. It was priced at $4 for almost 10 months. Then Coles raised the price by 50% to $6 for just 7 days. After that, the price dropped to $4.50 and was touted as a discount from $6. The ACCC’s barrister Garry Rich SC said this was "literally true" but "utterly misleading." Rich told the court, “A consumer who knew the real facts would not think the price of the dog food had gone down.” Coles allegedly used this tactic to hide wholesale cost rises and make a price increase appear as a discount. The ACCC is seeking heavy penalties and community service orders against Coles. The outcome may also affect a similar case against Woolworths, another major Australian supermarket. Coles defends itself by blaming supplier cost increases for price changes. The hearing will last 10 days and examine pricing from February 2022 to May 2023. This case comes at a time when inflation is rising again, especially for groceries. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported food and drink contributed 3.4% to annual inflation by December 2025. More updates will follow as the trial unfolds.