Woolworths vs Coles: Prices of meat, specials forcing customer to change supermarkets

Hello, my name is Jai, and I’m addicted to finding meat specials in supermarkets. I am zero days clean.

Almost every afternoon on my commute home through Bondi Junction I stop in at Woolworths and try to beat the house.

It’s not something I’m proud of and I’m not sure quite how it spiralled this far but despite not pausing for a second when I hand over $10 for a schooner at the pub or even more for a round of coffees, I will not spend more than $15 on meat.

I won’t be breaking any news by telling you it’s become harder and harder to get my fix in recent years.

Meat specials disappeared when Covid hit and the price of beef and lamb continues to soar, so the only way to ensure I stay under my limit is to go every day and look for a bargain in what’s become a well-practised routine.

To begin with it's a quick sweep past the slow-cooked packs of roast beef, ribs, brisket or pork shoulder. If any are on special, they’re in the basket.

The next aisle has steaks and other cuts, but you rarely get cheaper options like lamb forequarter chops, roasts or even chuck or blade steak, that is fine after a couple of hours in the slow-cooker, for $15 anymore.

What we’re really here for is the specials and there’s a couple of places to look. Most Woolies have a couple of shelves they keep for the meat that’s only got a day or two before it expires and needs to clear.

I’m not sure why but they seem to move it every six months or so but it hasn’t really been worth looking for over the past year because what constitutes a special these days is pretty grim.

Unless you want to become a full-time sausages, mince and chicken family you’ll need to look elsewhere.

The only real remaining gold mine at my supermarket is the butcher’s window, where you’ll sometimes find the meat they need to move on fast.

This can result in rare finds like Wagyu beef rump and diced lamb but your timing has to be perfect because they get snapped up fast.

But more and more I find myself empty-handed, which on the nights I don’t feel like pasta or tacos requires a five-minute walk across the mall to Coles.

My uncle worked for Woolworths and its meat suppliers for decades so there was no question where my supermarket loyalty would lie when I started doing the shopping myself after leaving home.

The meat was always better and cheaper at Woolies too and for me there were other upsides.

The Bondi Junction location is closer to the train station and the bus stop.

I’m also a snack fiend and you can generally find better deals at Woolies for chips, chocolate, lollies and ice cream because Coles likes to make you buy two of an item to get the discount.

I also find the pre-packaged salads cheaper and easier and like the Greek and Creamy & Crunchy kits Woolies has that Coles doesn’t.

But the meat is always the star of our dish and Woolies just isn’t ticking the box like it used to.

After a 20-year relationship I’m starting to wonder why I don’t make Coles my first-stop.

The meat is pretty comparable these days as Coles has introduced their own slow-cooked range of pork and beef. This week I noticed the Coles Finest range for the first time too, which looks pretty snazzy.

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They’ve started to get their salad game together — the Mexican is our favourite — and for a sucker like me that can’t resist a bargain it’s probably better not to have $2 packets of Maltesers and Tim Tams calling your name every afternoon.

Woolies won’t lose our custom completely. The free bananas they keep near the entry makes visits on weekends with my two-year-old son exponentially easier.

But until Woolies starts to meat expectations again, it’s Coles for me on weekdays.

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