An Aussie dad’s rant about his $200 trolley of groceries went viral this week as many questioned his purchases — but now many are defending the disgruntled shopper.
“$200 at Coles for this,” X user DunnyDoorBandit posted on Sunday.
“Yep, that tax cut is going to go a long way … to nowhere, also filled the car, $98. Cheers @AlboMP you liar. #OneTermAlbo. We are now just wallets for governments & corporations to take from.”
After social media users piled on to mock the dad’s purchasing choices — including Pepsi cans, Coco Pops, Nutella and instant noodles — he explained that he had teenage boys who “love to snack on things other than fresh vegies and fruits all the time”.
He added that his choice of items was “not the point”.
“The whole point is the fact that everything is on the rise with no end in sight and no control by those in power to do anything,” he said.
Many online sided with the dad.
One Facebook user wrote, “We had two years of lockdowns and now we can’t afford to go anywhere, if I [want] to stay home and eat what I like I will. There’s not much else to enjoy let people have the food they want.”
One woman said, “The problem with people questioning this trolley, is that this used to be stuff a lot of people could afford, regardless of health or if they are a necessity. The shampoo and conditioner regularly go on sale BUT why should we have to wait to buy something like that, which is obviously highly overpriced? Definitely question grocery prices.”
Another mum said “teens eat you out of house and home”.
“Sometimes you run out of ideas in this fast-paced world. Also fact, we’ve all had a trolley look like this at least once or twice in our lives. Inflation is across the board, especially fresh produce. The point that we should all be fearful of is, costs will just keep going up,” she said.
One man agreed “he’s right”. “It’s not up to you what he buys but his point is 100 per cent correct. Prices are outrageous with no end in sight,” he said.
A second added, “It doesn’t matter what he’s buying. It is still ridiculous … the cost of food these days.”
One woman agreed, “The fact that these few items cost almost $200 is ridiculous, if this dad had tried to buy the healthiest food this bill would have went way up. If you think food prices have not gotten ridiculous you must have money to blow, and anyone who can eat and feed their family the healthiest foods are wealthy cause groceries have gotten unreal in prices and continue to rise every week.”
Another man noted it was “not just the cost of food”. “It’s also the cost of electricity, gas, petrol, insurance, car registration, everything has gone up and governments don’t care,” he said.
One woman added it was even tougher in the regions. “Try living in the bush, we have fuel costs on top of everything. My small town of about 7000 has a Woolies and Bi-Lo. They don’t compete, they seem to meet the other’s prices or even add on,” she said.
Another said, “Spare a thought for us aged pensioners. Everything is going up but our pension isn’t. We don’t eat out much and cook homemade meals. We shop at Aldi. Grow veggies and have chooks.”
While Facebook users overwhelmingly supported the dad, some still suggested he should be shopping smarter.
“Yeah it’s tough for some people out there but this is not savvy shopping. While it’s your money, buy what you want, work hard to have luxuries, there’s other options than big supermarkets to make the money stretch,” one woman said.
The annual inflation rate was 5.4 per cent in the September quarter, down from a peak of 7.8 per cent in December 2022, with food prices up 4.8 per cent over the year.
Dairy and related products saw a 10.2 per cent increase, bread and cereal was up 9.7 per cent, meat and seafood rose 2.2 per cent, but fruit and vegetable prices fell 6.4 per cent compared to 12 months earlier.
The latest inflation figures for the December 2023 quarter will be published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.
It comes after a Woolworths customer shared a viral video last year expressing their disbelief at walking away with a small trolley of groceries for nearly $400.
The average Aussie household spent $182 on their weekly grocery shop in October 2023, according to comparison website Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker.
Two in five (39 per cent) respondents said their grocery shopping was causing them financial stress. That number doubled over the last three years, from 19 per cent in October 2020.
Finder analysed the cost of trolley of comparable items across Woolworths, Coles and Aldi, finding the most expensive shop cost 7 per cent more than the cheapest option.
The total price for a basket of 46 goods from Aldi came to $199.69, followed by Woolworths at $208.85 and Coles at $214.32.
On Monday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced he had directed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to investigate alleged price-gouging in the supermarket sector.
“When farmers are selling their product for less, supermarkets should charge Australians less,” Mr Albanese said.
“That’s why the ACCC will use its significant powers to probe the difference between the price paid at the farm gate, and the prices people pay at the check-out.”
Farmers have accused the supermarkets of profit-gouging on fruit and vegetables, driving growers out of business and harming consumers.
