In Australia, Disney’s Ooshies send Woolworths whooshing ahead of Coles
The major grocers are fighting to lure shoppers at a time when cost-of-living pressures and discount scandals are fuelling consumer anger
Woolworths Group said on Wednesday that Australian food sales jumped 7.6 per cent in the first eight weeks of the 2027 financial year, with its Ooshies promotion contributing an estimated 1.5 to 2 percentage points of growth. That accelerated from 4.6 per cent sales growth in the 2026 financial year.
Chief rival Coles Group felt the other side of the craze. It said a day earlier that supermarket sales rose almost 4 per cent and it gained market share in the year through June, but growth slowed in July amid a “competitor’s collectibles campaign” – a reference to Ooshies.
Woolworths’ supermarkets had “a very strong start” to the financial year, Jefferies analysts Michael Simotas and Naveed Fazal Bawa wrote in a note, “with solid underlying growth compounded by the Ooshie benefit”.
The numbers underscore the financial stakes behind what might look like a mere promotional gimmick.
The country’s dominant grocers are fighting to lure shoppers at a time when some of Australia’s most vaunted consumer brands are confronting growing public scepticism over pricing. Coles and Woolworths have become lightning rods as cost-of-living pressures and discount scandals fuel anger over whether customers are getting a fair deal.