Coles boss Leah Weckert says value-seeking shopping behaviour ‘here to stay’

Coles boss Leah Weckert has declared value-seeking shopping behaviours are “here to stay” as households face higher interest rates amid the fuel crisis.

More than half of customers were buying more specials, Ms Weckert said, citing internal research, with 50 per cent spreading their grocery trips across multiple retailers to find the best value, while 21 per cent were buying more in bulk.

Ms Weckert said stretched households were also using artificial intelligence for price comparisons.

“The other thing that we’re definitely seeing is that customers, through this value-seeking behaviour, they’re looking for more affordable options and so they are trading into more own brands,” she told media on a call.

“They’re buying more specials, and they’re using their points and loyalty offers to help them to make the household budget balance, and that, of course, then means that the average price for items is not going up a lot.

“So we’ve only seen about a one per cent increase in inflation over the course of the year, which is substantially less than inflation in the broader market.”

Ms Weckert made the comments as Coles reported net profit rose one per cent to $1.09 billion in the year to June 28, including a $235 million hit relating to a Federal Court judgement last September which found Coles underpaid staff. Excluding significant items, net profit rose 13.7 per cent to $1.255b.

Supermarkets sales increased 3.7 per cent to $41.5b, with Coles saying it successfully cycled the impact of Woolworths’ industrial action in the prior corresponding period and achieving market share growth for the year.

Excluding tobacco, grocery sales increased by 5.1 per cent.

But flagging sales across its struggling liquor division — which recorded a 3.3 per cent slump to $3.55b for the full year — reined in group revenue growth at 2.8 per cent to $45.58b.

Coles conceded rival Woolworths’ wildly popular Ooshies collectibles promotion kept a lid on growth as it entered the new financial year.

“Sales momentum was well ahead of 4Q FY26, with a temporary moderation during a competitor’s collectibles campaign in late July and early August,” Coles said.

“Following the end of the collectibles campaign, sales recovered quickly back to levels consistent with 4Q FY26.”