Australia's Federal Court ruled Thursday that Coles Group (ASX:COL) deceived shoppers by advertising discounts on products that, in many cases, were being sold at higher prices, according to multiple same-day media reports.

The case against Coles was brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in 2024. The consumer watchdog also filed similar allegations against Woolworths Group (ASX:WOW), with that lawsuit still pending a verdict.

The ACCC said Coles increased prices on certain items for a very short period of time before putting them on a discount, making the promotions illusory in nature. For example, the price of a dog food product sold for AU$4 for almost a year was briefly raised to AU$6 before being discounted to AU$4.50 as part of its "Down Down" price campaign, according to the reports.

"13 of the 14 'Down Down' tickets that were the subject of consideration in the joint liability trial were misleading because the relevant products were not sold at the 'was' price stated on the ticket for a reasonable period," Federal Court judge Michael O'Bryan reportedly said in his decision.

Coles did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MT Newswires.

The company's shares fell 1% in recent Thursday trade.