(Adds background, details on results) April 28 (Reuters) -...

(Adds background, details on results)

April 28 (Reuters) - Coles Group (COL) on Wednesday reported a fall in third-quarter comparable sales at its supermarkets after the pandemic-driven buying frenzy eased as the country managed to get the health crisis under control.

Australia has largely contained the pandemic through aggressive restrictions, with plans for mass vaccination drives further expected to ease the pressure from the crisis.

This has led to a slowdown in sales of grocery chains which had benefited from customers stockpiling household goods during lockdowns.

Coles said consumer behaviour in Australia had started to normalize, citing an increase in shopping trips and improvement in demand for coronavirus-impacted product categories.

The company, the country's second-biggest grocery chain, said supermarket sales fell to A$7.72 billion ($6 billion) in the quarter ended March 28, from A$8.23 billion a year earlier.

Comparable sales for the division fell 6.4% in the quarter, compared with 13.1% growth a year earlier and 5% growth in the previous quarter.

Total sales for the quarter came in at A$8.76 billion, down from A$9.23 billion last year.

($1 = 1.2877 Australian dollars)