Australia's consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), told a federal court in Sydney on Tuesday that supermarket giant Woolworths used "marketing magic" to trick shoppers into believing they were receiving genuine discounts through its "Prices Dropped" promotion. The ACCC alleges that between September 2021 and May 2023, Woolworths artificially inflated the prices of at least 266 products by 15% or more for short periods before placing them on the promotion, meaning the so-called discounted price was still higher than the original long-term price in nearly all cases — citing a family pack of Oreos raised from $3.50 to $5 before being "dropped" to $4.50. The landmark trial, which follows a near-identical case against rival supermarket Coles, is being closely watched as a test of Australian consumer law around comparative pricing practices.