# Coles Scraper — Prices, Specials & Unit Prices (AU) (`he_work/coles-product-scraper`) Actor

Scrape coles.com.au by search term, category or specials page: product name, size, price, was price, savings, multi-buy deals, unit price, availability, image and link. Fast, no browser.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/he_work/coles-product-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [HE Work](https://apify.com/he_work) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce, Marketing, Automation
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.06 / 1,000 products

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Coles Scraper — Prices, Specials & Unit Prices (AU)

> ✅ **Checked daily.** An automated test runs this Actor on the Apify cloud every day and checks that it still returns real data, so if the website changes and something breaks, it's caught the same day and fixed.

Collect **product prices from coles.com.au**: search any term, or point it at a category or the specials page. Fast HTTP scraping (no browser), with an automatic retry through an Australian residential proxy if a page is blocked, so runs keep succeeding.

### What you get

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| `name`, `size` | `a2 Milk Full Cream Uht Milk`, `1L` |
| `price`, `was_price`, `savings` | `3.30`, `3.90`, `0.60` |
| `on_special`, `promotion` | `true`, `2 for $39` |
| `unit_price`, `unit_measure` | `3.30`, `1L` |
| `available` | `true` |
| `product_id`, `url`, `image` | Coles product ID, product page, full-size image |
| `search_term`, `source_url`, `scraped_at` | where and when it was found |

### Input

| Field | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `searchTerms` | – | e.g. `milk`, `coffee capsules`, `nappies` |
| `startUrls` | – | Optional Coles pages, e.g. `https://www.coles.com.au/on-special` or a `/browse/...` category |
| `maxPagesPerSearch` | `5` | Result pages per search or URL |
| `maxProducts` | `500` | Hard cap for the run |
| `proxyConfiguration` | Apify residential, AU | Used only for pages that are blocked |

The run's `OUTPUT` record lists each search with pages read, products found and status, so you can see exactly what happened.

### Alerts & workflows

Ready-made workflow: **Price changes → Google Sheets + alert**. No Make or Zapier needed — set it in the input and schedule the Actor (e.g. daily).

1. Give the run a **Watch list name** (e.g. `my-watch`). Every run with that name remembers every product (by product ID) with its price; each item gets `change_status` = `new`, `changed` or `unchanged` (changed items also carry `previous_value`).
2. Turn on **Only new / changed items** to skip — and not pay for — items you've already seen.
3. Add one or more destinations; after each run you get a digest of what's new or changed:
   - **Slack**: an incoming-webhook URL.
   - **Telegram**: bot token (from @BotFather) + chat ID.
   - **Discord**: a channel webhook URL.
   - **Email**: an address (sent with Apify's send-mail Actor).
   - **Google Sheets**: open your sheet → Extensions → Apps Script, paste the script below, Deploy → New deployment → Web app (execute as you, access: anyone), and paste the web app URL into the input. Each new / changed item is appended as a row.

```javascript
function doPost(e) {
  var rows = JSON.parse(e.postData.contents).rows || [];
  var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getActiveSheet();
  if (!rows.length) return ContentService.createTextOutput("0");
  var head = sheet.getLastRow() ? sheet.getRange(1, 1, 1, sheet.getLastColumn()).getValues()[0] : [];
  if (!head.length) { head = Object.keys(rows[0]); sheet.appendRow(head); }
  rows.forEach(function (r) { sheet.appendRow(head.map(function (h) { return r[h] === undefined ? "" : r[h]; })); });
  return ContentService.createTextOutput(String(rows.length));
}
```

Secrets (webhook URLs, bot tokens) are stored encrypted by Apify.

### Example input

```json
{
  "searchTerms": [
    "eggs",
    "cheese"
  ],
  "maxPagesPerSearch": 3,
  "maxProducts": 20,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "AU"
  }
}
```

### Example output

One item from a real run (long texts shortened):

```json
{
  "product_id": "6704811",
  "name": "Bega Cheese Natural Slices Tasty",
  "size": "500g",
  "price": 10,
  "was_price": 11,
  "savings": 1,
  "on_special": true,
  "promotion": "Sponsored",
  "unit_price": 20,
  "unit_measure": "1kg",
  "unit_price_text": "$20.00/ 1kg | Was $11.00",
  "badges": [
    "Life 3 weeks min",
    "Save $1.00"
  ],
  "available": true,
  "image": "https://cdn.productimages.coles.com.au/productimages/6/6704811.jpg",
  "url": "https://www.coles.com.au/product/bega-cheese-natural-slices-tasty-500g-6704811",
  "search_term": "cheese",
  "source_url": "https://www.coles.com.au/search/products?q=cheese",
  "scraped_at": "2026-11-05T02:37:01.599019+00:00"
}
```

### How it compares

| | This Actor | Typical alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Fields per result | 18 (see *Example output*) | Varies by actor |
| Freshness | Read live from the source when the run starts | Varies |
| Reliability | Tested daily by an automated run on the Apify cloud (see the top of this page) | — |
| Price | $1.25 per 1,000 products | No comparable Actor on the Apify Store (6 Nov 2026); the alternative is the source's own API or export, or collecting it by hand |

### Pricing

Pay per result, no monthly fee:

- **$1.25 per 1,000 products**: One Coles product delivered to your dataset.
- $0.005 per run (start).

Bronze plans pay 5% less, Silver 10% less, Gold and above 15% less.

**Examples:** 1,000 products = $1.25; 10,000 = $12.51.

### FAQ

**How do I run it on a schedule?** Create a task with your input and add a schedule in Apify Console (e.g. daily at 6 am). Each run writes a fresh dataset.

**How do I get the data?** Download the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or HTML from the run page, or read it with the Apify API / Python and JavaScript clients. Integrations (Google Sheets, Make, Zapier, n8n, webhooks) work out of the box.

**Do I need proxies or an account on the site?** No. Proxies are handled inside the Actor and included in the price; no login is needed.

**What if a run returns fewer results than expected?** Check the run's key-value store `OUTPUT` record (when present) for a per-request report, then open an issue on the Issues tab with the run link and we'll look into it.

**Is it legal?** The Actor only collects publicly available data. You are responsible for using it in line with the website's terms, copyright and data-protection rules (GDPR, CCPA) — don't collect personal data you have no legal basis for.

### Notes

- Prices are Coles' online prices as shown without choosing a store; in-store prices can differ.
- Public product pages only; no login.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchTerms` (type: `array`):

Products to search for, one per line.

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Optional coles.com.au pages to scrape, e.g. https://www.coles.com.au/on-special or a /browse/... category.

## `maxPagesPerSearch` (type: `integer`):

Result pages to read for each search term or URL.

## `maxProducts` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap on products (and cost) for the run.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Pages are fetched directly; only blocked pages are retried through this proxy (AU residential recommended).

## `watchListName` (type: `string`):

Any name, e.g. 'qld-tenders'. Runs with the same name compare against each other: items get change_status new / changed / unchanged.

## `onlyNewItems` (type: `boolean`):

With a watch list name: skip (and don't charge for) items that were already seen and haven't changed.

## `slackWebhookUrl` (type: `string`):

Slack incoming-webhook URL. Gets a digest of new / changed items after each run.

## `telegramBotToken` (type: `string`):

From @BotFather. Use together with the chat ID.

## `telegramChatId` (type: `string`):

Chat, group or channel ID that receives the digest (e.g. -1001234567890).

## `discordWebhookUrl` (type: `string`):

Discord channel webhook URL. Gets the digest.

## `googleSheetsWebAppUrl` (type: `string`):

Deploy the 10-line Apps Script from the README in your sheet and paste its web app URL: every new / changed item is appended as a row.

## `notifyEmail` (type: `string`):

Email address for the digest (sent with Apify's send-mail Actor).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchTerms": [
    "eggs",
    "cheese"
  ],
  "maxPagesPerSearch": 3,
  "maxProducts": 20,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "AU"
  },
  "watchListName": "my-watch-list",
  "onlyNewItems": false,
  "notifyEmail": "you@example.com"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `products` (type: `string`):

One row per product.

## `report` (type: `string`):

Per-search pages, products and status.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchTerms": [
        "milk",
        "bread"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ],
        "apifyProxyCountry": "AU"
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("he_work/coles-product-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "searchTerms": [
        "milk",
        "bread",
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
        "apifyProxyCountry": "AU",
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("he_work/coles-product-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchTerms": [
    "milk",
    "bread"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "AU"
  }
}' |
apify call he_work/coles-product-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,he_work/coles-product-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/D31m0yYRY5mTOpR6n/builds/FN9jEftkEdq6njePi/openapi.json