There are hundreds of angry posts on social media from citizen journalists who had been archiving Coles and Woolworths' published prices, claiming that the supermarket giants have misled their customers with their “Down Down” and “Prices Dropped” promotions. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has now launched legal action saying what the big two presented as a discounted price was actually the same or higher than the ordinary price that had been charged for months before the increase.

Today, economist and contributor to The Saturday Paper Peter Martin, on the “illusory” discounts and how a Cadbury Caramello Koala helped fuel the outrage.