ACCC – Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog

Yet More Probes Into The Great Supermarket Rip-off!

The Australian Government has directed the ACCC to conduct an inquiry into Australia’s supermarket sector, including the pricing practices of the supermarkets and the relationship between wholesale, including farmgate, and retail prices.

The year-long inquiry will also examine competition in the supermarket sector and how it has changed since the ACCC’s last inquiry in 2008.

“We know grocery prices have become a major concern for the millions of Australians experiencing cost of living pressures,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.

“When it comes to fresh produce, we understand that many farmers are concerned about weak correlation between the price they receive for their produce and the price consumers pay at the checkout.”

“We will use our full range of legal powers to conduct a detailed examination of the supermarket sector, and where we identify problems or opportunities for improvement, we will carefully consider what recommendations we can make to Government,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.

Like London buses, you wait a long time, then they come in bunches – this is the fourth inquiry currently underway across the sector. As well as price gouging, shrinkflation, supplier management and competition need to be addressed.

In a year, we will know if it was worth the wait!

http://www.martinnorth.com/

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog

Yet More Probes Into The Great Supermarket Rip-off!

00:00 / 00:06:39

The Great Australian Savings Account Rip-Off!

If you have savings with a bank in Australia, it is highly likely you are being ripped off. After all, Australian Consumers depend on retail deposit products to conduct their everyday banking, to safely store over $1.4 trillion of their savings and, importantly, to earn a decent return on these funds.

However, as I have been highlighting in recent shows, changes in the cash rate (often referred to as the ‘official interest rate’) via the RBA, and which is the rate paid on lending between banks in the overnight cash market only indirectly affect the cost of funding from retail deposits and the interest rates paid on retail deposit products.

Banks are quick to lift mortgage rates on mortgages, but have been significantly less market driven in terms of deposit rates, with many savers loosing out. Yet relatively few consumers switch deposit products, despite there often being a range of alternative products offering better interest rates and conditions. This loyalty tax means consumers earn significantly less than they should, over all on deposits, which boosts bank profits significantly.

So now the ACCC just completed a report on Retail Deposit Account. They gathered information, and documents on retail deposit products supplied by 14 of the largest banks in Australia. These banks collectively hold more than 90% of household deposits in Australia. This included seeking information directly from these banks as to their retail deposit products and from APRA and RBA, as well as reviewing the information available to the public on the banks’ websites.

The ACCC findings highlights that despite the importance of transaction accounts, savings accounts and term deposits, the ongoing challenges consumers face in searching for, comparing, and switching between products means that consumer engagement with the market for retail deposit products is relatively low. This low level of engagement means many consumers miss out on earning more from their savings.

Widespread strategic and selective pricing also adds difficulty for consumers when seeking to locate key product information and compare market offerings. This lack of transparency may also damage consumer confidence in the market.

Given the range of factors that banks take into account and the strategic pricing approaches they employ when setting their retail deposit rates, the interest rates received by consumers do not automatically follow movements in the cash rate target.

http://www.martinnorth.com/

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/