AUSTRALIA-SHOPPERS HUNT FOR CHEAPER MEAT.
The weakened economic climate is forcing shoppers at Coles to trade down expensive cuts of meat for chicken and eggs, while branded products are being substituted for generic and private label goods (The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 February).
The Sydney Morning Herald article quoted John Durkin from Coles supermarkets stating that consumers are swapping T-bone for sausages in an attempt to cut their shopping bills, with sales of beef, lamb and pork over the past three months growing at a slower rate than the turnover of food and liquor at Coles supermarkets and bottle shops.
Meanwhile, the number of units of chicken sold in Coles supermarkets over the past three months was noted in the article to have experienced double digit growth compared with turnover during the previous six months.
Similar trends are also being witnessed by Woolworths whose chief executive last year mentioned to The Sydney Morning Herald that shoppers at Woolworths stores were increasingly buying cheaper cuts of meat.