Coles and Woolworths promotions: Coles and Woolies launch dualling promotions in bid to win back customer loyalty | Supermarket Sleuths

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The supermarket also launched its 14th annual Big Night In promotion in partnership with Netflix. This gives Everyday Rewards members the chance to win “over $1.1 million in prizes from May 20 through June 30,” including LG 65” Smart TVs and a trip to Dallas, by purchasing “participating products” and scanning or linking their Everyday Rewards cards.

Today Money expert Joel Gibson told nine.com.au on behalf of cost comparison app Zyft that the lure of prices cannot compete with the savings shoppers can find by paying the lowest possible price.

He has labeled the latest attempts by Coles and Woolworths to attract shoppers to their stores as the ‘gamification of grocery shopping’.

“Some people are really addicted to this stuff because of the lure of the big prize,” he said.

“It’s very attractive, but like a lottery or a poker machine, your chances of winning are very, very low.”

Consumer expert Gavin Northey from Griffith University agrees. He sees the Coles Fest promotion as an attempt by the supermarket chain to expand its online shopping business, which has fallen behind Woolworths in 2026.

He says both supermarkets’ latest promotions are ‘data activation campaigns’ that they can respond to when a Coles or Woolworths customer interacts with the promotion.

“Every swipe is a data point, and the supermarkets have developed ‘entry requirements’ (buy three things, spend $50 or more) to generate specific behavioral signals that the retailers can respond to.”

Northey also explained that the products in each promotion are “vendor marketing programs.”

“Suppliers pay to be included in the promotional campaign because inclusion guarantees trial and purchase at scale,” he said.

“This means that a substantial part of the price and giveaway costs are borne by suppliers, and not by Coles or Woolworths.”

Of Woolworths’ Netflix Big Night In, Northey sees this as a smart strategic move by the company to position itself as a ‘lifestyle brand, rather than just a supermarket chain’.

RMIT finance and marketing expert Dr Nadja Dollisson doubts whether the efforts of both supermarkets will result in a change in customer behavior in the long term.

In light of the recent ruling against Coles, which was accused by the ACCC of misleading shoppers with its ‘Down Down’ promotions, and pending the outcome of a similar action against Woolworths, Dollisson would like to see a change of focus from Australia’s largest supermarkets.

“In a cost-of-living crisis, with both major chains under price pressure, lower everyday prices will feel more like gloss than real reform for many consumers, with millions in prizes and Netflix holidays rather than clearly cleaner.

‘The reality is that only a small handful of customers will ever see these top prizes.

“Inviting households already cutting back to add one more item just to enter a drawing where almost none of them will win a big prize seems ethically questionable to many: at best a distraction, at worst a boost that exploits financial anxiety for additional income.”