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A new survey has found Australians' trust in Coles and Woolworths has plummeted after the supermarket giants suffered the worst reputational damage seen in seven years.
Coles fell from the country's fifth most trusted brand in December to the ninth most distrusted brand in March, according to Roy Morgan.
During the same period, Woolworths dropped from Australia's second most trusted brand to 34th.
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Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine said that in the past seven years of tracking data, there had never been a reputational crash as dramatic as what the supermarket duopolies have experienced.
"Sadly, this is just the beginning. Our data reveals even more dramatic reputational declines in the coming months," she said in a statement.
Coles and Woolworths have been the centre of a parliamentary inquiry into supermarket price gouging during the cost of living crisis.
The pair have been accused of profiteering.
In the last financial year, Coles posted a $1.9 billion profit while Woolworths posted $1.62 billion.
Meanwhile, the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages grew by 4.4 per cent in the year to January.
These have all contributed to the significant drop in trust, Roy Morgan said.
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Levine said this was in direct contrast to the soaring reputational trust the supermarkets gained after stepping up during the pandemic to keep stores open and safe.
She said Coles and Woolworths were now paying the price for failing to recognise cost of living as another "genuine crisis".
"Despite their plummeting trust and soaring distrust, both supermarket giants appear to be performing at the checkout, but trust and distrust measures are what we call 'lead indicators'. In other words, they foreshadow what is to come," she said.
"Woolworths' share price, for example, has already fallen 22.5 per cent since mid-June last year.
"Distrusted brands become fragile, making them targets for smart competitors like Aldi and other overseas competitors looking for new territories."
Roy Morgan surveys about 2000 Australians every month to measure levels of trust and distrust of about 1000 brands across 26 industries.
