Promotion

n my local Westfield there’s a Coles at one end and a Woolies at the other. The supermarket which gets my custom depends on its proximity to the dress shop I’m in at the time, and where in the godforsaken underground maze I’ve managed to nab a park.

For me, groceries are groceries. A kiwi fruit is a kiwi fruit whether I bag it at the Fresh Food People or the land of the Big Red Hand.

But for many people Coles and Woolworths are ‘destination’ stores. Millions of Australians would make the arduous journey up elevators, down escalators and across skywalks without hesitation in order to swipe their cards at their preferred mega mart.

According to Macquarie, Coles and Woolworths hold 56% of the Australian grocery market. The concentration of competition has made the rivalry palpable, penetrating the hearts, minds and stomachs of grocery buyers across the nation. Ask why someone is loyal to a particular supermarket and the ensuing justification will often involve emotional hyperbole, whether hatred or love for a particular aspect of a brand. 

Woolies is commonly perceived to be more ‘premium’ while Coles promises low prices, but in reality the experiences offered by both are incredibly similar. Beneath all the taglines and promotional puff, the mandates of both Woolies and Coles are based on two things: fresh food and value for money.

“Our customers want good honest food which is fresh, available and affordable”, says Simon McDowell, marketing director of Coles. Woolworths upholds those same values: “We want our customers to trust us to deliver best quality food and the best value every time they visit one of our stores,” said Lizzy Ryley, GM marketing at Woolworths.

So why choose one over the other? In the end, it all comes down to marketing. Here, to find out who is marketing themselves better, we examine the supermarkets across five categories: 

* Advertising

* Brand ambassadors and sponsorships

* Ecommerce and mobile

* Loyalty programs

*...