Woolworths, Coles and the owner of both Kmart and Bunnings have all recently signed major deals with AI technology companies, but remain vague about potential changes to the shopping experience. 

How soon the advanced technology, known as agentic AI, will be rolled out is unclear, as is whether personalised pricing or surge pricing will follow. 

While there are more questions than answers about how AI technology will transform the online shopping experience, one thing is clear. It is coming. 

Supermarkets sign big deals

In October 2025, Coles announced a major deal with OpenAI, owner of ChatGPT, with a plan to roll out AI tools across its internal corporate workforce by early this year. The press release announcing the deal says the company will be using the technology for more than just back-of-house purposes. 

“Together with OpenAI, Coles is also exploring how emerging AI capabilities could reshape the shopping experience, helping customers plan, shop and check out in more personalised, convenient and connected ways,” it says. 

“Building on OpenAI’s experience with global retailers, Coles will reimagine how its teams work and how customers shop through the use of advanced AI tools.” 

In January, Woolworths said they were partnering with Google’s AI tool Gemini to upgrade the supermarket’s existing chatbot Olive to become an AI-powered “supermarket companion” capable of planning meals. 

Wesfarmers, the owner of Kmart, Bunnings, Officeworks and Priceline, has signed AI-partnership deals with both Google and Microsoft in recent months.

The transformation of how we shop

Uri Gal, professor of business and information systems at University of Sydney, says these large and complex language models have the capacity to change the way we shop forever. 

“Pretty soon you’ll be able to say ‘I’m hosting a party for eight people, design a menu for me and buy all the relevant ingredients’. The user willingly delegates responsibility from themselves onto the tool,” he says. 

Gal says the supermarkets have purchased foundational models from the major AI companies, but will be “fine tuning” the systems and training it on internal information like loyalty program data for customisation. 

Jeannie Paterson, professor of consumer protection law at the University of Melbourne, who previously sat on the federal government’s AI Expert Group, says if AI bots are allowed to autonomously put items into checkout baskets, consumer risks will increase significantly. 

“With these systems, the more autonomously they act, the more these risks multiply. They could be putting the wrong items in the basket or spending too much money and if it’s on the consumer to catch that out, there could be serious consequences,” she says. 

Coles and Woolworths respond

We sent questions to Woolworths and Coles about whether proposed AI systems could automatically place items in shopping baskets and whether customers would have the option to turn off assisted shopping technologies. 

A Woolworths spokesperson says customers will have “full control over their cart” and “will be able to review and refine any suggestions from Olive before completing their purchase”. 

“Our approach to AI is focused on making the shopping experience easier and more personalised for our customers. We take a customer-led approach to AI, offering problem solving and shortcuts that are genuinely useful to shoppers,” the spokesperson says. 

“Once live, Olive will be able to anticipate customer needs to make life that little bit easier – from helping plan meals and finding specials, to helping them shop for specific occasions like birthday parties.” 

Coles says AI will make shopping more relevant and convenient for customers.  

“For Coles Online customers, this means helping them discover products they are more likely to need or want to buy, based on their shopping behaviour and preferences. These tools are designed to support the customer’s decisions; while ensuring they remain in control of what they choose to add to their basket,” the spokesperson says. 

Neither company responded to questions about whether customers would be able to opt out or turn the systems off. 

Bunnings and Kmart owner Wesfarmers did not respond to requests for comment. 

Competition concerns

For Paterson from the University of Melbourne, the concern is that AI tools may preference certain products or brands with more lucrative commercial relationships with the retailers over others. 

If this were the case, companies may pay a premium to be recommended more often than others, further decreasing competition in an already highly concentrated market. 

“Consumer law still applies that you can’t mislead or deceive a customer, but with these systems it may be hard to prove what’s going on,” she says. 

Geoff Olds is the managing director of Technology 360 Group, which specialises in working with pharmacy retailers, but also counts Woolworths among its clients. 

He says increased access to AI models will allow small and medium retailers to compete with the big players in ways they haven’t been able to before. 

“It’s going to level the playing field among those who adopt the technology. People who don’t adopt technology in this space drop out of the market. That’s the unfortunate part of disruptive technology,” he says. 

Olds expects to see AI technologies also move into the physical retail space in the near future. Electronic price labelling could potentially lead to surge pricing for customers who shop in stores late at night or on public holidays or even personalised pricing based on customer loyalty and other data points. 

He points out that variable pricing already exists in certain physical settings.

“If you go to the local butcher, the price of meat will change four times a day. If you go to a convenience store late at night it’s going to cost you a lot more than if you went to the supermarket.”

“It’s only a matter of time before we accept these things in the supermarket and chemist settings more broadly,” he adds. 

Big data becomes gold 

Neither Coles nor Woolworths responded to questions about how loyalty programs would be integrated with AI models either online or instore in the future, but Paterson says the massive data sets these companies hold give them enormous power. 

“Loyalty programs are a gold mine. They contain so much data on our shopping habits and behaviours over a long period of time.” 

She says while many people may find these incoming technologies convenient and helpful, scepticism and caution are important. 

“While people might not mind being nudged or prompted towards certain behaviours, if the AI is making the decisions for you, the question needs to be asked: ‘what are you really saving by having something do the shopping for you, and what is it costing?’.”

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After two years of surveying supermarket prices, we’ve seen some clear trends emerge.

Aldi has had the cheapest overall basket each quarter, though individual product prices can be cheaper at Coles, IGA and Woolworths, especially when specials and discounts are applied.

Woolworths and Coles are incredibly closely matched on price.

And the inconsistency between the independently run IGA stores means that while overall they’re generally more expensive on average than the other three supermarkets, your local IGA may compare favourably. 

All of this means that the advice we’ve been offering since our very first quarterly report remains as relevant now as it was in June 2024: to get the best deal, use unit pricing to compare similar products, shop around to take advantage of discounts at different supermarkets, and don’t get stuck in a routine, but instead look for alternative products that can help you save.

On this page:

• The cheapest supermarket in our survey
• Base item prices
• Prices for school lunch items
• What’s in our basket?
• How closely matched are Coles and Woolies?
• How does IGA compare
• Changes in the past 12 months
• Does where you live make a difference to grocery prices?
• Freshness assessment
• What our results mean for consumers
• How we survey supermarkets

The cheapest supermarket in our survey

Without including specials, our full basket of 17 items cost $75.98 at Aldi, $90.08 at Woolworths, $90.90 at Coles and $101.84 at IGA.

It’s important to note that in order to compare the same products as often as we can, the baskets from Coles, Woolworths and IGA contain more name-brand products than the Aldi basket. 

Prices with specials

When you take into account the savings from the specials available when we shopped, at Aldi our basket cost $75.98. It cost $89.08 at Woolworths, $90.09 at Coles and $99.10 at IGA.

During our fieldwork, Coles had a special on the Sunbeam sultanas 6-pack, and Woolies had a special on the Bega cheese slices. IGA had specials on ham, bread, yoghurt pouches, tuna, cheese slices, breast fillets and milk, but these varied from store to store.   

Base item prices

In our base basket of seven items, which contains apples, bananas, strawberries, carrots, Weetbix, milk, and chicken breast fillets, and without including specials, Aldi was cheapest at $34.03, followed by Woolworths ($35.37), Coles ($35.73) and IGA ($42.65).��

Looking at the individual items on our base basket list (without specials), Aldi had the best price on all seven items, though in some cases only by a few cents. For example, a 375g box of Weetbix from Aldi cost $3.99 and the same product was $4.00 at Coles and Woolworths and $4.11 at IGA. Nevertheless, those small differences do add up. 

When we look at those same seven items with specials included, the picture remains the same, with Aldi still the cheapest for each product. 

Prices for school lunchbox items

If you’re packing a lunch for your kids for school each day, our spotlight basket of 10 items, which this quarter focused on items you might buy to fill a lunchbox, was cheapest at Aldi, costing $41.96. This basket contained five home-brand and five name-brand products.

If you’re more interested in just the name-brand items from the other three supermarkets, we found that without taking specials into account, you’ll pay $54.71 at Woolworths and just $0.46 more at Coles ($55.17), showing once again how closely matched the big two are on most prices. At IGA, you’ll pay $59.19 for the same 10 items on average. 

When we include the special prices available at the time of our survey, the price at Aldi remains the same but changes slightly at Woolworths, Coles and IGA, where we paid $53.71, $54.36 and $56.72, respectively. 

While most prices at Aldi, Coles and Woolworths were fairly consistent around the country, the variation in pricing at IGA means the average cost of our basket of goods was higher than at the other three stores. While this is an accurate reflection of the data, you may find prices at your local IGA to be closer to what you’ll pay at other supermarkets, such is the significance of the variation between prices at different IGA stores.

What’s in our basket?

In this quarter, our basket included six fresh and 11 packaged items. The products we purchased were:

• Chicken breasts, bulk pack
• Carrots
• Royal Gala apples
• Cavendish bananas
• Strawberries
• Baby cucumbers
• Blueberries
• Full cream milk
• Yoghurt pouches 
• Cheese slices
• Ham
• Weetbix
• Vegemite
• Sultana 6-pack
• Wholemeal sandwich bread
• Multipack chips
• Canned tuna

For all items we chose, we considered a range of factors such as ingredients, country of origin and packaging similarities to ensure we made fair comparisons. When items were unavailable, we looked for the closest alternative, just as you would when shopping for your family. Fieldworkers priced groceries at 104 supermarkets in 27 locations across Australia in December 2025.

You can see the full list of the exact items purchased at each store by clicking on the blue arrow below.

Store by store lists

How closely matched are Coles and Woolies?

In the first eight quarters of our ongoing quarterly supermarket research, Coles and Woolies have remained similarly matched on price. While Woolworths was cheaper when we shopped in March 2024 and September and December 2025, Coles was the cheaper of the two in June, September and December 2024 and June 2025. 

This close contest is reflected in the total basket costs we saw in our latest survey. Without specials Woolies was $0.82 cheaper than Coles in our basket of 17 items. That difference increased only very slightly to $1.01 when comparing prices with specials. 

Eight of the items in our full basket of 17 items were priced identically at the two supermarkets. 

How does IGA compare?

IGA stores don’t have the same chain-store model as Aldi, Coles and Woolworths, with individual stores operating as independently owned franchises. That means we see quite a lot of variation between the stores in the IGA network, often due to variation in store sizes and the effect this has on the ranges.

All of this means that while some IGA stores might be more competitive, overall our basket of 17 items (without specials) cost just over $10 more on average from IGA than the same basket of goods cost us at Woolworths.

Changes in the past 12 months

Our base basket of seven items contains chicken breast fillets, carrots, Royal Gala apples, Cavendish bananas, strawberries, Weetbix and full cream milk. We’ve been surveying the price of these products since the start of our second year of quarterly surveys in June 2025.

Overall, the cost of our seven base items has fallen since last quarter. Strawberries, as would be expected for seasonal produce, fell the most, and the cost of milk rose at all four supermarkets.

The biggest total reduction was seen at Woolworths, where the price of our basket dropped by 16%. At Aldi, it fell by 11%, at Coles it dropped by 6% and at IGA the cost was 4% lower compared to the last time we shopped.

Most of the reduction in prices was due to the average 57% decrease in the cost of strawberries. Woolworths also had a large reduction in the cost of breast fillets, as they were on special (21%). Milk rose on average 6% and the price of bananas fell at all stores except IGA, where they rose by 18%.

Does where you live make a difference to grocery prices?

Our analysis found that the state you live in does make a difference to how much you pay, and we also see variations between the different stores. 

The prices varied very little between Aldi stores, although South Australian customers paid slightly more than customers in other states. ACT had the cheapest Aldi basket, followed by NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. The difference was only $0.87 between the cheapest and most expensive Aldi baskets across the country. 

Western Australians paid less at Coles than shoppers from other states. For IGA shoppers, Victoria had the best prices, and at Woolworths, ACT residents paid less than those in other parts of the country. Aldi’s ACT shoppers also got the best price. 

Proving once again how much variation exists between IGA stores, the difference between the cheapest and most expensive baskets by state for this chain was over $15; it cost $92.50 in Victoria versus $107.60 in the Northern Territory.

At Coles the variation was just $2.33 (Queensland vs Western Australia) and at Woolies it was $2.95 (Tasmania vs ACT).

Freshness assessment

One concern we often hear is that buying cheaper means getting poorer quality, and frequently, fresh fruit and vegetables are cited as being of a better quality and lasting longer at one supermarket or another. 

So, which supermarket really has the freshest produce? While we can’t answer that question for every item you might wish to purchase, in this quarter’s survey, we asked our mystery shoppers to look at a product that often shows signs of decay more quickly than we would want: strawberries.

Our first freshness survey in June 2025 also looked at strawberries. At the time, Coles had the best result in our assessment, followed by Woolworths and Aldi, with IGA earning the poorest scores.    

As with the previous survey, we asked shoppers to assess the freshness of the strawberries they bought on day one and then again on the fifth day after purchase. Shoppers were instructed to store their punnet of strawberries in the container they were bought in, and to keep them in the crisper section of their refrigerator. After five days, they were asked to examine the berries and tell us how many showed signs of decay. 

In this assessment, Coles once again beat the other supermarkets for its initial results. On day one, 91% of the Coles punnets assessed were found to contain no fruit with signs of decay.

Woolworths came in next with 87%, followed by Aldi (80%) and IGA (61%).

After five days, Woolworths led for freshness: 35% of punnets contained no fruit with signs of decay. Coles followed, with 23% of punnets showing no signs of decay.

Only 15% of punnets purchased at Aldi and 9% of those bought at IGA had no signs of decay after five days.

Aldi had the highest number of punnets (20%) that were assessed to have no remaining fresh strawberries after five days.

What our results mean for consumers

Our shopping baskets provide a general picture of prices in the different stores and locations we visit, but they can’t reveal the whole picture. 

Smaller ranges, as we saw at some IGA stores, and special pricing can make a big difference to overall costs. We also know that between the time we survey and the time we publish our results, prices will inevitably fluctuate.

What our findings continue to highlight is that small changes add up to significant savings, particularly over the course of the year. 

That doesn’t only mean changing the store you shop at. We also recommend you think creatively and carefully about what you choose to put in your shopping trolley. 

There are lots of ways to save money on your weekly shop. Here are three of our top tips to help you reduce what you’re paying at the checkout. 

1. Check the unit pricing: It can be hard to compare prices of different-sized products from different brands, but unit pricing lets you compare prices based on the price per unit e.g. 100g or 1L. All supermarkets are required by law to include this information in labelling, both online and instore.
2. Shop around: Switching between stores and shopping at different supermarkets to take advantage of specials can deliver significant savings. 
3. Change your routine: Swap expensive cuts of meat for cheaper alternatives, look at frozen fruit and veg, particularly if shopping for produce out of season, and give the ugly or imperfect fruit and veg on special a go. Also, don’t be afraid to try home-brand products. Our expert testing often finds these ranges outperform more expensive options at all the supermarkets. 

It won’t change the fact that we are still paying significantly more for our groceries than we were just a few years ago, but making these small changes can add up.

How we survey supermarkets

Supermarkets and locations

We sent undercover shoppers into 104 supermarkets – 27 Woolworths, 27 Coles, 23 Aldi and 27 IGA stores – in 27 locations across Australia in December 2025.

Supermarket locations were chosen to give good coverage of socio-economic status based on ABS Indexes and geographic spread across the country. We survey supermarkets in clusters so that each store has local competition, and we calculate the average price of the basket of goods, both with and without specials.

A price was deemed to be a special when we had evidence of a temporary price reduction. There were 17 grocery items in each basket (6 fresh and 11 packaged items).

For more details on how we survey, see How we survey supermarket grocery prices.

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Whether you love, hate, or feel indifferent towards the Anko brand, its popularity shows no sign of waning. But are Anko products any good? Yes and no.

Anko products keep surprising us, often rivalling – or even outperforming – the big brands in our tests.

But while some Anko buys deliver premium performance at low prices, others aren’t really worth the (admittedly small) price.

����Vlog experts have put dozens of Anko products through their paces in our labs over the past year. Here are some of the best and worst performers from our tests.

On this page:

• Laundry and cleaning
• Kitchen
• Babies and children
• Luggage

Cheap appliances may not last as long

While some of the appliances listed below performed well in our testing, it’s important to consider the lifespan of cheap appliances. They may be made with cheaper parts and have shorter warranties than more expensive products. 

It can also be harder to find replacement parts (if they’re available at all), and the design can make them difficult to repair (either by yourself or a professional), so they could end up in landfill sooner.

If things go wrong with your cheap appliance, you might have better luck with customer service from an established brand rather than a discount retailer.

A cheap appliance might save you money at the checkout, but if you have to replace it sooner because it breaks, it’ll cost you more in the long run. 

Laundry and cleaning

Vacuum cleaners

Worth buying? – No

Kmart and Target sell a range of different Anko-branded stick and barrel vacuum cleaners, priced from about $30 up to $250.

Although we do love it when we find a bargain appliance that really shines, in the case of Anko vacuum cleaners, it’s sadly not so.

All of the Anko vacuums we’ve recently tested were among the lowest scoring overall. The best (or rather, the best of the worst) model scored a mediocre ����Vlog Expert Rating of just 63%. 

In fact, Anko vacs regularly make our lists of stick vacuums to avoid and barrel vacuums to avoid. 

If you’re on a budget, you’re better off checking out our recommendations for the best stick vacuums under $250.

Robot vac

Worth buying? – No

If you’ve been longing for a robot vac but can’t justify the high price, seeing the bargain $169 Kmart Anko Robotic Vacuum hit the shelves in Kmart or Target probably set your heart a-flutter.

But we suggest you swipe left on this cheap date: it’ll only leave you heartbroken.

Considering that the best robot vacs in our tests cost more than $1500 at a minimum, our expectations of a bot this cheap were low, but wow – it really disappointed.

Our experts rated it just 36% overall, and were hard pressed to find anything positive to say about it: when asked about the bot’s good points, they said “none to mention”.

Avoid this dud date and use the cash to take yourself out for a nice dinner instead.

Steam mop

Worth buying? – Yes

This is one appliance that Anko gets right! Our experts found the Anko 1300W Steam Mop easy to use, and it didn’t leave much water behind after cleaning the floor. 

At $52, it held its own against far more expensive products – even some costing more than $500. 

Before you buy, though, ask yourself: Is a steam mop worth it?

Irons

Worth buying? – Yes

Ironing is one household task that many of us loathe. And if you’re ironing-averse, you probably don’t want to fork out a fortune to buy a decent iron. 

Fortunately, Anko does come to the rescue in this situation. 

Its irons are inexpensive and the $29 Kmart Anko 2400W steam iron performed well in our irons test. 

But the highest scoring iron from the brand is a $7.50 Anko cheapie that outclassed irons costing many times more. 

So, if picking up an absolute steal will help beat those ironing blues, hot-foot it to Kmart or Target for the Kmart Anko 2000W Steam Iron.

Or if you’d like to invest in an iron with more features and even better performance, check our expert iron reviews. 

Garment steamers

Worth buying? – Yes

While they didn’t quite earn a recommendation from our experts, Anko’s $40 handheld garment steamer and $55 garment steamer performed solidly in our tests. 

They do have some wrinkles to iron out, however: the handheld model struggled to steam away creases in cotton, linen and poly-cotton, while the full-size model bombed out on linen. 

The handheld version doesn’t have an auto shut-off and its small tank means you’ll be running back and forth to the sink to fill it up if you have a large pile of clothes to steam.

Since our tests, a $29 Anko compact garment steamer has been released. Stay tuned for our next garment steamers review to see how it performs.

Kitchen

Air fryers

Worth buying? – Maybe

Anko air fryers have won many fans, most notably because they’re significantly cheaper than air fryers from many of the leading brands. 

Prices range from just $39 for a mini version through to $129 for a 24L air fryer oven. (Although at the time of writing some products were out of stock online so they may have been discontinued – it’s hard to say, considering how rapidly Kmart brings out new products.)

Our experts have had mixed feelings when testing them in our labs: there have been some dazzlers and some real duds. 

A now-discontinued Kmart Anko 9L twin air fryer fell into the latter camp.

“Not only did it receive a low score in our testing, but the Kmart Anko twin air fryer was also fairly large and heavy, and not very easy to use due to its controls, which were rated as only OK,” says ����Vlog kitchen expert Fiona Mair.

There are a few new Anko air fryers on the block that we haven’t tested yet, but keep an eye out for our next air fryer review to see which ones are the best.

Other Anko air fryers have fared better in our testing in the past, with one even scoring highly enough to be recommended by our experts. Unfortunately it’s since been discontinued, but its results go to show that some Anko models could be worth considering.

Check our detailed air fryer reviews to find out which one to grab off the shelf and which to avoid.

Coffee machine

Worth buying? – No

While a previous Kmart coffee machine we tested made pretty tasty coffee, the most recent machine we tested – the $79 Kmart Anko Compact Espresso – failed to impress.

It scored just 55% on our taste test and 40% for milk frothing. Overall, our experts gave it a ����Vlog Expert Rating of 57%.

If you’re looking for a cheap coffee machine, a pod machine might be a better bet for your money.

Cookware

Worth buying? – Yes and no

Kmart’s cast iron casserole pot ($25) compared fairly well with big-name brands such as Le Creuset, Chasseur and Staub when we tested casserole pots and Dutch ovens – and at a tiny fraction of the cost.

In a previous test, a $20 Anko 24cm frypan scored top marks, performing as well as – and even better than – more expensive brands including Tefal, Scanpan, Chasseur and Essteele.

Unfortunately it’s been discontinued, and the currently available Anko frypans we’ve tested have been somewhat half-baked.

A $19 stone-blast frypan scored 71%, which isn’t bad, but isn’t comparable to the top performing frypans in our review, which score 85% and above.

In terms of saucepans, a 20cm Anko stainless steel saucepan ($20) received top marks in our tests, ranking higher than products costing hundreds of dollars.

Premium performance at a bargain-basement price? That’s definitely a winner in our book!

But don’t just pick up any old Anko pan: the 20cm Stainless Steel Saucepan with Lid ($14) was half-baked, scoring just 66%.

The Anko 24cm Aluminium 4 Layer Non-Stick Frypan ($15) failed to sizzle in our tests, scoring a ����Vlog Expert Rating of just 54%, while an Anko 28cm ceramic non-stick frypan ($22) only managed a lukewarm 57%.

Food processors

Worth buying? – Yes

If you’re after a cheap and cheerful food processor that’ll do the job, you can’t go wrong with the $79 Kmart Anko food processor. 

“This food processor is a very good performer that’s great for chopping, slicing, mixing and emulsifying,” says Fiona. 

“It is a compact unit so it’s easy to store, and all blades are stored in the unit. It is quite noisy though.”

We’ve also tested a smaller Kmart Anko 1.2L food processor, which was the cheapest product in our test. Our experts weren’t as impressed by this one, finding some functions frustrating to use, but at $52, it’s a decent low-cost option if you’re looking for a smaller unit.  

Rice cookers

Worth buying? – Maybe

With prices for rice cookers running as high as $350, there’s a lot to like about affordable Anko models.

One of the cheapest is the petite 1.5 cup Kmart Anko mini rice cooker that costs just $15.

Sure it’s basic, but that’s to be expected for the price. And it definitely delivers: it scored a solid 80% overall in our tests, emphatically beating models costing many times more. 

If you want to size up, the $69 Anko 10-cup version could also be a winner, with similar scores across the board in our tests. It’s relatively expensive for an Anko appliance, but it also scored well in our testing.

While our experts were impressed with the Anko rice cookers we’ve tested, we suggest you check our rice cooker reviews for other brands before you shop. 

Or you could always cook your rice in a different appliance altogether: Is a multifunction air fryer the kitchen appliance you never knew you needed?

Microwaves

Worth buying? – Yes

At $99, the 28L Kmart Anko microwave certainly delivers bang for your buck. 

Our experts recommend it, giving it excellent scores for defrosting mince and a whole chicken, plus very good scores for cooking vegetables, melting chocolate and overall cooking performance. 

“If you’re looking for an affordable microwave that cooks well and is great for defrosting, then the Anko 28-litre model is a good buy,” says Fiona. 

Our experts also recommend the Kmart Anko 25L microwave ($89).

The larger Kmart Anko 34L microwave ($119) scored well overall but was marked down on its ease of use so can’t be recommended by our experts.

At these prices, some Anko microwaves are worth considering for your kitchen, especially if you’re on a budget, but make sure you’re buying one that scores well across all our tests.

Kettles

Worth buying? – Maybe

Anko kettles aren’t always impressive, but they’re not a bad purchase either. 

While only one Anko kettle we’ve ever tested has been recommended by our experts and none of the others scored higher than 74%, they’re always among the cheapest, so they’re not bad value for money. 

If you’re after something cheap and cheerful to make a simple cup of tea, you could do a lot worse than an Anko kettle. 

However, if you’re after something with fancier features or sleek aesthetics, you’ll probably need to spend a bit more.

There were more than 30 kettles on the Kmart and Target websites at the time of writing, with new models added to the range so often that we can’t always keep up with them in our testing! 

To see which Anko kettles are the best we’ve tested and find other hot buys, check our expert kettle reviews.

Bench mixer

Worth buying? – No

Competition in the benchtop mixer market is stiffer than the egg whites for your meringue, with the likes of Kitchenaid, Breville, Kenwood, Smeg and more jostling for shoppers’ attention. 

But big-name mixers come with big price tags. 

If you’re thinking of nipping down to Kmart or Target to pick up a cheap bench mixer, you’re probably better off waiting a little longer to save up for a model that performs better. Your patience could also pay off in the longer term since a cheaper appliance may not last as long.

The Anko white bench mixer is only $79 but you do get what you pay for with this one.

There’s a $69 Anko retro bench mixer now available, but we haven’t tested it so we can’t say whether or not it’s a good buy. However, we can say that the Anko mixers we’ve tested in the past haven’t always wowed our experts. 

Unfortunately, the mixers that scored the best in our testing tend to be at the upper end of the market, but you can pick up a stand mixer recommended by our experts for less than $450 – just check our review first to make sure you’re buying the best benchtop mixer for your money. 

Slow cookers

Worth buying? – Yes

When our experts put Anko slow cookers to the test they were impressed with the results.

They may lack the features of some more expensive brands like Sunbeam, Breville and Cuisinart, but these budget slow cookers perform quite well. 

And at $29 for the Anko 3L slow cooker and $47 for the Anko 6.5L digital slow cooker, those prices are hard to beat.

There are two other Anko slow cookers on the market but we haven’t tested them yet. Stay tuned for our next review.

Our slow cooker reviews are available exclusively for ����Vlog members. 

Babies and children

Bicycles

Worth buying? – No

Kids seem to grow out of things almost as soon as you’ve bought them, and bikes are no exception – so it’s understandable that you might not want to spend a fortune on a new bike that’ll be too small for them in no time. 

When we compared cheap Kmart bikes with similar ones from bike shops in 2024, the Kmart bikes just didn’t pass muster. 

They were poorly assembled, rusted quickly, had faulty parts, needed more replacement parts more quickly, and had to be serviced more frequently. 

When you add up the maintenance costs of a cheap Kmart bike, it quickly becomes a much more expensive ride. And some bicycle mechanics won’t even touch cheap bikes from big-box stores like Kmart, so you might struggle to get it repaired or serviced. 

We suggest you save up to buy a better-quality bike or look for a decent second-hand model rather than going for a cheap product from Kmart if you want to have a more enjoyable riding experience. 

Strollers

Worth buying? – Yes and no

The Kmart Anko Layback Umbrella Stroller may not have the looks or the street cred of a Bugaboo or Stokke, but what it lacks in aesthetics it more than makes up for in value for money. 

It’s just $65 but scored better than strollers costing hundreds (and even thousands) of dollars more. Importantly, it passes all our safety and durability tests, and it’s light and compact, weighing in at just 5.8kg. 

It’s cheap, easy to use and safe – what’s not to like about that?

However, when we tested a $179 Anko Compact Stroller it failed our safety tests and scored just 33% overall. It’s no longer available on the Kmart and Target websites.

A full explanation of the safety failures and Kmart’s full response are both detailed in the Kmart Anko Compact Stroller review. (See below for Kmart’s responses to our safety test results.)

Since we tested the compact stroller, several more Anko strollers have been released, but we can’t comment on their safety as we haven’t yet tested them.

Bassinet

Worth buying? – No

A cheap bassinet can be a tempting buy, but our expert testing reveals that many bassinets fail on basic safety features and can pose serious risks to little ones. 

Until recently, there hasn’t been an Australian safety standard for bassinets that manufacturers must adhere to, so our expert testers had to create ����Vlog safety tests based on established Australian standards for cots and portacots. These tests are what our current results are based on.

Thankfully, a new mandatory standard that covers bassinets has been released. It came into effect in January 2026.

Unfortunately the $149 Kmart Anko Bassinet with Canopy didn’t impressive our testers from a safety perspective – it scored a ����Vlog Expert Rating of just 49% due to the lack of continuous breathable zones around the edge of the bassinet, which could be a suffocation risk, and the mattress thickness not matching with safety recommendations. 

There are more newly released Anko bassinet and co-sleeper products on the market, but we’re yet to test them for safety.

See our full bassinet reviews for all the risks we found in our testing.

Cots

Worth buying? – Yes

We’ve tested the $139 Anko White Wooden cot and the $259 Anko 2-in-1 wooden cot, which both passed our safety tests and are recommended by our experts, so you can save money and be confident that your baby is safe in one of these cots. 

If you’re considering another brand, check our expert cot reviews before you shop to make sure you’re buying a safe product for your baby.

Cot mattress

Worth buying? – Yes

If you’re thinking of buying the $89 Anko cot spring mattress from Kmart or Target, you can rest easy knowing that it’s safe and firm, and recommended by our experts.

Since our tests, an Anko pocket spring mattress has come on the market, but we haven’t yet had a chance to put it through our rigorous testing.

A new mandatory standard for cot mattresses and other infant sleeping surfaces was introduced in July 2024, and from January 2026 all products such as cot mattresses must comply with this standard.

We’ve assessed 50+ cot mattresses in our labs to make sure they pass our stringent safety testing. See the full results of our cot mattress tests for all the details. 

High chairs

Worth buying? – Yes

The $29 Anko Prandium High Low Chair and $149 2-in-1 Wooden Highchair passed our key safety tests with flying colours and are recommended by our experts. 

The $45 Flat Fold High Chair also passed key safety tests, but didn’t score quite well enough for our experts to recommend it, as it’s a bit difficult to clean. 

To find the safest high chairs that are easiest to use and clean, check our detailed high chair reviews. 

Playpen

Worth buying? – Yes and no

Almost a third of the 25 playpens we tested failed key safety requirements – but all the Anko playpens we’ve ever tested have passed.

There’s no Australian standard for playpens, but we test to international standards and use in-house methods based on existing Australian standards for other baby products.

The $145 Anko playpen is the pick of the bunch, with our experts saying it’s easy to use as well as being safe. It’s easy to set up and pack down, and comes with a latched gate so you won’t hurt your back when reaching over the fence to pick up a heavy toddler.

The $99 Anko playpen with base passed our key safety requirements, but is only rated 60% overall as it’s hard to assemble and disassemble.

See our full playpen reviews.

Luggage

Worth buying? – Yes

There are only two Anko carry-on suitcases in our current review, but they’re both pretty good buys for the money. 

At just $39, the Anko Carry-on Hard Case 4 Wheels ranked alongside premium brands such as Samsonite, American Tourister and Antler, some of which cost hundreds of dollars.

“You could buy the $39 Anko carry-on plus return flights from Sydney to Melbourne, and you still wouldn’t have spent as much as if you’d bought the most expensive suitcases in our test,” says ����Vlog luggage tester Matthew Tung. 

Carrying too much for carry-on? The $99 Anko Premium Hard Case 72cm 8 Wheels is a decent option for check-in luggage. It didn’t score quite as well as its smaller sibling, but for the price it’s a durable suitcase that performed as well as other suitcases costing nearly 10 times as much. 

The Anko suitcase range has expanded and we haven’t had the chance to test them all yet, but they’ve typically performed well in our previous tests, with more hits than misses. 

Learn more about cheap vs expensive carry-on suitcases. 

The post Kmart Anko: Best buys and what to avoid appeared first on ����Vlog.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the federal government have responded with increased monitoring of prices, a beefing up of penalties for unlawful conduct, and promises to come down hard on any fuel companies caught taking advantage of the disruption to global oil supply chains. 

But will this work to prevent petrol retailers from trying to cash in? And how can consumers avoid the worst of the effects every time they fill up their cars? 

Price-gouging allegations 

Queensland’s peak motoring body, RACQ, has referred a number of major fuel retailers to the ACCC for allegedly taking advantage of drivers by hiking prices significantly in less than three days after the war broke out. 

“There is no good reason for fuel companies to be increasing their prices just days after conflict broke out in the region,” says Ian Jeffreys, RACQ’s principal economic and affordability specialist. 

“Yes, we’ve seen an increase in the global oil price, but that usually takes around two weeks to flow through to bowsers here in Australia, not two days,” he says.

“South East Queensland is already at the expensive phase of the price cycle. Before this additional hike, many fuel stations were already charging more than 50 cents per litre above the average wholesale price.” 

Meanwhile, NSW motoring group NRMA has called the level of price hikes “completely unjustifiable”.

“With prices in Australia’s three largest cities already at the top of the regular cycle, half of the stations in our three biggest cities are effectively inflating that margin to take advantage of the community,” says NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury. 

“Australians are doing it tough with cost of living pressures, and now is not the time to be ripping the community off – we urge the ACCC to act.” 

What the government is doing

The federal government says it’s increasing scrutiny and surveillance of the fuel sector, shoring up fuel supply and increasing penalties for misconduct. 

“The conflict overseas shouldn’t be an excuse to profit off Australians,” says Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury. 

“We’re putting petrol companies on notice. We won’t cop big corporates treating Australian consumers like mugs.” 

Companies will face penalties of up to $100 million per offence for misleading conduct and cartel behaviour. 

Professor David Byrne, an expert in energy and resource markets at the University of Melbourne, says research has shown that during the COVID pandemic, the government talking tough on petrol companies and putting them on notice did have a small positive price impact for consumers. 

“The ACCC has gotten very good at actively monitoring the situation. They have the resources, the data and the people in-house to monitor the wholesale price, what customers are paying and the split. In the past, we have seen fear of prosecution work to drive down prices,” he says. 

Missed opportunity

����Vlog head of policy Morgan Campbell says when sudden prices rises happen, regulators are often limited in what they can do. The federal government last year giving the regulator new powers to tackle price gouging in the supermarket sector was welcome, he says, but also a “missed opportunity” to go further. 

“When the government was looking at price gouging last year, we made two recommendations: ban it wherever it happens, not just in supermarkets, and specifically outlaw unfair price rises during shortages,” Campbell says. 

“The government missed an opportunity, but as global disruptions cause prices to skyrocket again, it’s time to revisit this and give regulators the power to tackle potential price gouging across the economy.” 

Fuel apps

Meanwhile, state governments have been talking up the importance of price comparison apps to help customers shop around and find the best deal on fuel. Melbourne University’s Byrne says the more customers use price apps, the bigger impact it has on competition in the marketplace. 

“The more, in effect, that we’re able to pit the companies against each other to bid for your business, to keep the prices low for your demand, the more we are going to be able to keep the companies in check,” he says. 

“We can’t know how long this war will go on and we can’t stop global oil prices going above $100 per gallon, so some of that we are going to have to eat at the bowser. But there are some things we can do,” he adds. 

The post Can the government stop petrol price gouging in Australia? appeared first on ����Vlog.

The evidence that a lot of the things we buy in Australia were made under coercive conditions continues to grow, yet we still have no laws against importing products from places where the exploitation occurs.

Instead, we leave it up to big companies to tell us how well they’re doing at making sure they don’t have modern slavery in their supply chains.

Under the current system, companies with $100 million or more in annual revenue are required to undergo an annual self-evaluation of the risks of forced labour in their supply chains and explain the steps they’re taking to mitigate these risks.

For many companies, these modern slavery reports have turned into tick-the-box exercises. There’s no penalty if the reports are poor quality, or if they’re not filed at all.

Anti-slavery framework under review

Members of the federal government are aware of the shortcomings. Earlier this year, Australia’s Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Chris Evans, recommended a number of improvements to Australia’s anti-slavery framework, which is currently under review.

They are more incremental than structural, and include giving the Anti-Slavery Commissioner the power to declare that a particular product, service, or industry carries a high risk of being involved in modern slavery.

This designation would mean companies doing business in these areas would have to specifically address how they’re managing the heightened risks. They would also be required to exercise due diligence in ridding their supply chains of forced labour.

“We have known for years that the Modern Slavery Act’s transparency measures alone have not created meaningful impact for exploited workers. Currently, reporting is mandatory but taking action is not, leaving workers exposed and responsible businesses disadvantaged,” Evans says.

One in five of imports under suspicion

Meanwhile, consumer goods with a probable connection to forced labour continue to pour into the country.

In February this year,  Australian anti-slavery group the Walk Free Foundation and supply chain management firm Fair Supply released the findings of a research project based on 2024 import data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

It found that 21.5% of all goods imported into Australia that year were from countries and regions with known forced labour issues, including 89% of all apparel and clothing.

Many other everyday goods – including phones, computers, footwear and vehicle parts – were also found to be at risk of being manufactured by exploited workers in these regions, the Walk Free Foundation reports. The combined value of these imports was $98.6 billion.

(The exporting countries in question were China, Malaysia, India, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Brazil, Argentina, Nepal and Japan.)

Anti-slavery expert and founder of the Australian human rights governance advisory service Fair Futures, Fiona David, says the research is further evidence that the Australian government must do more.

“Forced labour permeates Australian supply chains and exposes businesses and consumers to products made with forced labour,” David says.

“While the Modern Slavery Act has helped very large companies to begin focusing on this issue, the government still has more work to do, both to set the rules but also [to] provide the tools that businesses need to undertake the kind of due diligence that will lead to real change.”

Reforms to the Act are also needed to level the playing field for businesses that do take steps to ensure their supply chains are slavery free, David says. Putting greater pressure on companies to avoid sourcing from high-risk countries and regions would also facilitate cross-industry collaboration, she points out.

In countries such as the Netherlands and Germany, for instance, governments support initiatives that bring businesses together to collaborate on responsible sourcing, something that has yet to occur in Australia.

Other countries are cracking down

The supply chains of multinational companies stretch far and wide and often include many hundreds of suppliers. As of May 2025, for instance, Kmart Australia had 856 businesses in its supply chain, many of which have thousands of employees. Transparency around working conditions in supplier factories for large companies like Kmart has long been lacking.

But overseas, major companies are increasingly being asked to prove they have nothing to hide.

In December last year, for instance, police in Italy paid a visit to the headquarters of 13 high-end fashion firms, including big names such as Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Prada, Ferragamo, Givenchy Italia, Alexander McQueen Italia, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent.

The authorities were investigating the possible exploitation of workers at the firms’ subcontractors and demanded documentation of supply chains. It was a warning shot more than an enforcement action, though five other high-end brands in Italy were placed under court-appointed administration due to links to forced labour following an earlier investigation. 

In May 2025, the UK Supreme Court rejected an application by the appliance manufacturer Dyson to appeal a lawsuit brought by Nepalese and Bangladeshi workers who claimed they were subject to forced labour and false imprisonment while working at Malaysian factories that supplied Dyson.

The groundbreaking case means Dyson will potentially be held responsible in the English courts for what goes on in its overseas supplier factories.

Similarly, eight Brazilian workers filed a lawsuit against Starbucks in the US in April 2025, saying they had been subject to forced labour and human trafficking by a Starbucks supplier (the case is ongoing).

Along with legal and government actions, reports of labour exploitation continue to pile up.

In January this year, the New York-based not-for-profit advocacy group China Labor Watch published the findings of its investigation of a factory in China employing around 4500 workers that manufactures Labubu dolls. The report cited excessive overtime and a lack of adequate health and safety protections, among other issues.

Earlier this year, ����Vlog reported on the efforts by indigenous community groups to stop logging companies from destroying forests in Malaysia. For years, a significant portion of the resulting wood products have been exported to Australia.

What needs to change?

Fair Futures is calling on the federal government to enact several reforms, including:

• An outright ban on the importation of goods to Australia produced with forced labour or slavery.
• Due diligence laws requiring businesses to take reasonable steps to respond to known risks of forced labour.
• Government-backed, multi-stakeholder initiatives to encourage cross-industry collaboration on clean supply chains.

“Without these, the burden is left to consumers to attempt to unravel the provenance of every good and service they buy, in an effort to understand risk exposure,” David says. 

In her view, state and federal governments have tools at their disposal that they’re not using.

“Governments can use their control over imports to drive up traceability of products, and increase access to high quality, reliable information about risk that enables businesses to act responsibly. Governments can also create safe spaces where businesses can come together with civil society and other experts, to build leverage and find ways to build cleaner supply chains.”

The post One-fifth of Australian imports have probable links to forced labour appeared first on ����Vlog.

A similar court case is on the cards against Woolworths. In both cases, filed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the allegation is that the supermarkets artificially inflated prices for a short time and then dropped them down to the regular price and called it a sale.

It means the discounts would have been fictional, and shoppers would have been deceived into thinking they were getting a special deal. Coles’ “Down Down” and Woolworths’ “Prices Dropped” promotions were allegedly just a return to prices as usual – or, in some cases, prices higher than usual.

“����Vlog welcomes the ACCC’s legal proceedings against Coles and Woolworths and we’re optimistic that it will bring some much needed clarity to the confusing pricing practices used in the major supermarkets,” says ����Vlog senior policy and campaigns adviser Beatrice Sherwood.

“The case against Coles is significant as it will help to clarify the law around price representations – particularly in determining where the line is drawn when referring to previous prices.”

These cases are about whether we can trust the grocery duopoly – which has a combined market share of around 65% – to play fair with pricing and not take advantage of customers through tricky promotional tactics.

At the moment the collective trust quotient is low. ����Vlog recently lodged a submission to the federal Treasury’s consultation on improving price transparency in the supermarkets industry. We’re calling for an end to the tactics we’ve called out in several investigations.

In our submission to government, we’re asking for several improvements in the way supermarkets display and manage pricing. Here’s what they are.

Showing the price upfront

It’s the simplest of things, but first and foremost, supermarkets need to make sure they are actually displaying prices in the first place. All too often, shoppers don’t find out how much a product costs until they go to pay for it, at which point they’re likely to pay whatever it costs. Had they known the price in the first place, they may have considered other options.

It’s a particular issue in remote communities, where the Code of Practice for Remote Store Operations commendably requires “stores to have clearly displayed and accurate prices”. The problem is that the code is strictly voluntary.

Expanding the Grocery Unit Pricing Code

Unit pricing – which shows the cost per unit of measurement (such as grams or litres) – is the great leveller. It puts the truth to how much you’re actually paying for what you get. The alternative is to allow shoppers to be fooled into paying more through fancy packaging tricks.

Currently, the code only applies to stores with a floorspace of 1000 square metres or more, which means a lot of stores are bypassing it. We’re calling for a reduction of the floor-size threshold to 300 square metres, which would expand the code to many regional and remote stores, where shoppers could really use some fair play with pricing.

Making sure online and in-store prices are the same

Many shoppers use digital tools to compare supermarket prices before heading to the store to shop. But the online prices they see don’t always align with in-stores prices, pulling the rug out from under such proactive budgeting efforts.

In our submission to government, we’re calling for online price displays in large supermarkets to accurately reflect in-store prices – at all times.

Promotions and discounts should have context

As it stands, we’re forced to trust the supermarket when it tells us a product is on sale. But as the ACCC case against Coles and Woolworths shows, the supermarket may have just raised the price and then lowered it. Shoppers have told us they’re confused about promotions and discounts, mainly due to the lack of contextual information. If it’s on sale now, what did it cost before, and for how long?

Supermarkets use promotional colours such as red or yellow, or terms such as “new”, “while stocks last”, “super savers” or “everyday” indiscriminately. We’re calling for the introduction of new minimum information requirements so that “was/now” pricing is clear and accurate.

Loyalty schemes and more

The above is the short list of what we’re recommending in our submission to policymakers. It also includes a call to put supermarket loyalty schemes under the microscope to determine whether they’re really benefitting consumers; to compel large supermarkets to allow third-party price-scraping technologies to access prices so consumers can easily compare; and to align fruit and vegetable pricing across large supermarkets.

“Supermarket promotions are confusing consumers and can really influence how shoppers spend their money. Our research in 2024 found that on average one in four people found it difficult to identify if certain supermarket promotions represented a true discount or not,” Sherwood says.

“Clear pricing information is essential to any consumer’s economic decision making. Consumers need fair and transparent pricing on their food and groceries.”

The post ����Vlog calls for an end to grocery pricing tricks appeared first on ����Vlog.

Here are some of the left-of-field places our staff have scored an amazing deal.

Op shops

Shoes

“OK, it may be true that in my guide to op shopping I directly counsel against buying shoes second-hand, but that’s only if you’re an op-shopping novice.

Personally, I have had amazing luck finding shoes at op shops. Some of my favourites? My Jadon Hologram platform Doc Martens ($25), my white Blaire Doc Marten sandals ($4) and my vintage-look New Balance trainers ($3).

Plus, for my kids I’ve scored both pink and purple Converse hi-tops ($2 each), Blundstone boots ($2) and countless pairs of Adidas and Nike sneakers in near-new condition.”

– Grace

Designer clothes

“Last year I attended a wedding in a thrifted designer dress (Bassike) that retailed at $460 – scored for $15 from my local op shop. I also get lots of compliments on my Stella McCartney swimsuit which I picked up for $3.”

– Grace

“I once scored a Jeremy Scott biker jacket from Vinnies.”

– Ren

Kids’ toys

“Last Christmas I scored not one, but two VTech Kidizoom cameras for my son and daughter, one in pink and one in blue. They retail for $99 each at JB Hi-Fi.”

– Grace

Facebook Marketplace

Bookshelf

“My son’s book collection was getting out of control, so I managed to score him an enormous bookshelf on Marketplace for $40 (it takes up his entire wall and currently houses hundreds of books).

When we went to pick it up, the woman was so happy that it was being used for a child who loved reading that she gave him $5 to buy more books (our local op shop sells books for 50c a pop, so he was stoked!).”

– Grace

Kids’ bikes

“Anything that kids grow out of is always possible to pick up for a bargain, and kids bikes are such a good example. We bought my son a high quality Trek bike with a trendy helmet included for $50.”

– Grace

Furniture

“I bought this Parker bedroom suite (dressing table with mirror, chest of drawers, and wardrobe) for $250 years ago and ended up selling it for $1100. Turns out it’s a 1953 design – probably could have sold it for even more!”

– Alice

Waste Not, Want Not/Trade groups

Trampoline

“We picked up a giant Vuly trampoline someone was giving away for free on our local Waste Not, Want Not group.”

– Grace

Wooden drawers

“When my daughter needed a set of drawers for her bedroom, we scored this solid wooden set someone was giving away for free and painted it Barbie-pink.”

– Grace

“This mid-century stoneware crockery is from an English brand called Denby. I had bought the green pieces from Facebook Marketplace, but it wasn’t a full set.

Then someone on my trade group (where people swap things with no money involved) posted an entire set of the brown ones. Their aunt was getting rid of them, and she only wanted some yarn as a trade so she could make blankets for a charity.”

– Alice

Gumtree

“I scored a beautiful extra-long parker sideboard from a minister’s wife in Mosman on Gumtree for $150. When I went to pick it up she was genuinely surprised about how many enquiries she’d had about it.”

– Jane

Dumpster diving*/council pickup/side of the road

“A friend of mine found two original Featherston chairs on a hard rubbish chuck out, but could only fit one in his car. They’re currently worth $3–10k each.”

– Tracy

“My partner scored a huge Brett Whitely painting retrieved from a dumpster in the Surry Hills Street they both lived/worked on. He chucked it, she found it.”

– Ren

“In a share house a long, long time ago, we would dumpster dive the day after Easter for hot cross buns. Hundreds of bags – all clean, wrapped, and fresh-ish – thrown into the freezer to fatten us up over winter.”

– Mark

“I found a cute cane side table and tiger cane plant stand both on the side of the road.”

– Alice

“I found a mid-century saucepan in the skip bin next to my house. I later found another similar looking one left out on the street near my house – it’s made in Yugoslavia! Below are the goodies from dumpsters, side of the road and op shops displayed on a plant stand, which was also found on the side of the road.”

– Alice

“Our son finds lots of furniture on the side of the road and saves it to gift to people when the time comes. He gifted us this outdoor table.”

–&�Բ�����;���Ի��

*We don’t necessarily recommend dumpster diving for food. It’s risky from a food safety perspective and it’s also a legal grey area. But you can definitely find great stuff in dumpsters. ����Vlog staffer Alice recommends simply asking for permission if you’d like to check a bin that’s on private property. 

Online bargains

Holiday

“At the risk of sounding like an advertorial, I cannot plug the value of the Sea World Resort ‘Stay Play and Save’ deal hard enough. Every year during ‘off’ season (usually August), my husband, two kids and I take a holiday to the Gold Coast. For $299 we get one night’s accommodation for all four of us, two full days of entry to Wet n Wild, Sea World and Movieworld (the day of check in and the day of check out) and one buffet breakfast.

I challenge anyone to find a cheaper way to visit three theme parks for two days! Unfortunately Sea World does not pay me a commission to spread the good word, but if they did I would be rich from the number of people I have put onto this amazing deal. The deal changes slightly each year but keep an eye out once the weather starts to turn.”

– Grace

Refurbished tech from Reebolo

“We’ve purchased all my extended family’s iPhones, AirPods etc through Reebelo at a fraction of the new cost, and they come with the same one-year warranty you would get when buying new.  

I had to test my warranty recently when one of my three-month old AirPods stopped working and the process was very smooth and satisfying. Recently, we bought two 128GB iPhone 13s for our parents for $470 each, and delivery’s included.”

– Alana

Workplace free table

At ����Vlog, we have a “free to a good home” Slack channel, and a table in the office where people can leave items for others to take. It’s a rich hunting ground for freebies, especially for parents looking for items other people’s kids have outgrown. It’s a great thing to suggest at your workplace if you think it might work.

Kids’ books

“I picked up a massive collection of Dog Man and Diary of a Wimpy Kid books that my kids are now obsessed with off the ����Vlog free table.”

–&�Բ�����;�ʰ���

Clothes

“I am still wearing a number of pairs of jeans/leggings etc that a colleague donated in an office clothes swap many years ago – great quality.”

– Alana

“I nabbed a pair of pink Doc Marten boots for my daughter.”

– Ren

Have you got an amazing bargain to share? Send them to choicecheapskate@choice.com.au.

Things worth buying new

Getting things second-hand is not only great for your bottom line, it’s also good for the planet.

But as much as we love a bargain, there are plenty of things the savvy staffers at ����Vlog would only buy new – usually for safety reasons, but also in some cases it’s simply the more frugal choice, when you take into consideration product warranties and customer support for certain items.

Certain appliances

Buying second-hand appliances can definitely be a good idea in certain situations, but when it comes to shopping second-hand, there are certain appliances that it really makes sense to buy new.

Big ticket items that use a lot of electricity (and will gobble up enormous quantities if they’re not running properly) such as fridges, dryers and washing machines are usually worth buying new – although you should always try to grab one on sale.

For smaller appliances like toasters, kettles and sandwich presses, you need to ask yourself why the seller is getting rid of the item – people rarely upgrade these items if they’re in perfect working condition. 

The appliances that you’re most likely to be able to pick up for a bargain second-hand are novelty appliances that people may have bought on a whim or received as a gift and never ended up using. Things like slushie machines and ice cream makers, for example. 

Baby items

When it comes to babies, safety and hygiene are extremely important. You can certainly pick up some items second-hand – prams, cots, high chairs and baby carriers are all good candidates, as long as you check they comply with the relevant safety standard.

Make sure you can see the model number so you can check it online for recalls, safety failures and warnings, and of course, read the relevant ����Vlog buying guide for each product before you commit – we usually offer guidance on what to look out for when buying second-hand. 

Other items are definitely worth buying brand new. Anything that’s going to go in your baby’s mouth (toys, dummies, bottles) should be new.

Cot mattresses should also be bought new, as older ones can be full of dust or mould and they may be too soft and saggy to be safe.

And you should never buy a second-hand car seat off a stranger – buying one off a friend or family member is OK if you are 100% sure it has never been involved in an accident.

Power tools

Faulty power tools can cause serious injury or death, so it’s really, really not worth taking the risk buying these  second-hand.

Mattresses

Considering you may spend a third of your life on your mattress, and a second-hand one has likely absorbed a heck of a lot of sweat from its previous owner (and possibly some mould, dust and… other bodily fluids), it’s usually worth buying a new one if you can afford it.

Our testing has shown some of the best performing mattresses are quite affordable – one double our experts recommend even costs under $300.

Your consumer rights when shopping second-hand

Your consumer guarantee rights under the Australian Consumer Law may not apply when buying items through second-hand platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree because the transactions would probably be characterised as private transactions, not made in trade and commerce.

Nevertheless, platforms like these do have some statutory obligations. For example, the prohibition on misleading and deceptive conduct and false or misleading representations would apply.

Other potential risks for using peer-to-peer buy, swap, sell and sharing sites include the user damaging or losing a borrowed or rented item; people not picking up or returning items when they say they will; and sellers misrepresenting what they’re selling.

Always read the group’s rules and guidelines so you understand your rights when using these platforms.

The post The best places to find freebies and second-hand bargains appeared first on ����Vlog.

If you follow retailers on social media or get their newsletters, you’ll probably notice sales seem to be happening more often these days. 

No longer are Boxing Day and the End of Financial Year events the undisputed jewels in the sales calendar crown – open your inbox or feed any time of year and there’ll be a posse of promotions swarming your senses.

These sales go by a range of novel names, like Black Friday, Click Frenzy and Prime Day and they sometimes even recur multiple times in a single year, making them hard to keep track of.

“There’s often a sale around every corner these days, so you shouldn’t feel too pressured by ‘buy now or miss out’ marketing tactics,” says ����Vlog editorial director Mark Serrels.

“But knowing which sales pop up at certain times throughout the year, and what deals you can expect lets you plan your spending and avoid being rushed into an expensive case of buyer’s regret.”

Having kept an eye on these sales for a few years now, ����Vlog is well-placed to let you in on this info. Here’s our guide to the 10 most common sales events worth looking out for this year.

10 biggest sales and when they happen:

• 1. Black Friday (���DZ��𳾲����–D�𳦱𳾲����)
• 2. Boxing Day (�ٱ𳦱𳾲����–J���Գܲ�����)
• 3. End of Financial Year (�Ѳ���–J�ܱ���)
• 4. Click Frenzy (May, November)
• 5. Afterpay Day (March, August)
• 6. Amazon Prime Day (July)
• 7. Flash sales (ad-hoc)
• 8. Clearance deals (ad-hoc, often January, May, June)
• 9. Mid-season sales (ad-hoc, often March–April, September)
• 10. Special events (ad-hoc)

1. Black Friday

Australia’s biggest shopping event, the Black Friday sales run from early November until early December.

But some brands may not join the fray until just before Black Friday itself (the last Friday in November), which marks the high point of these sales. The following Monday is known as Cyber Monday and may attract its own deals.

We’re seeing more retailers and manufacturer brands jump on the Black Friday trend every year – if your favourite outlet only holds one sale a year, it’ll either be at this time or around Boxing Day.

You can expect most Black Friday discounts from big retailers to range from 20% to 50%, though in rarer cases you might see reductions of up to 70–80%.

Such markdowns are broadly in line with what we see from retailers during other big sales events.

“Black Friday deals are rarely ‘the lowest price ever’ or ‘once in a lifetime’,” says Serrels. “You might get a deal just as good or even better at other sales throughout the year.”

2. Boxing Day

Although it has now had its title as the biggest sale event of the year taken by Black Friday, the Boxing Day sales remain Australia’s most well-known discount event.

In line with the current trend of big sales lasting longer every year, many Boxing Day deals now drop before the day itself, and often even before we’ve reached Christmas.

Last year, we saw brands flick the Boxing Day switch as early as December 15. Most deals then lasted a few days into the new year, but some stuck around as late as the middle of January.

Discounts from major brands on Boxing Day tend to range from 30% to 50%, although bigger markdowns are possible.

Note that some retailers may refer to sales they hold at this time as “End of year” or “post Christmas” sales.

3. End of Financial Year

The End of Financial Year (EOFY) sales are another mainstay event familiar to many shoppers, occurring in the lead up to the end of Australia’s financial year on 30 June.

Recently, we’ve seen EOFY deals dropping as early as late May and staying in place until the first week of July.

A rush by businesses and consumers to get their financial affairs in order has led to this period becoming synomynous with sales.

Some retailers drop prices in order to clear old stock in time for the end of the fiscal year, while others compete to target shoppers looking for last minute purchases they can claim on tax.

You can therefore expect businesses to roll out discounts on work-related products like laptops and smartphones, along with promises to help “smash” your taxes and invitations to “claim everything you can”.

But just because a retailer says you can claim a purchase doesn’t always mean you can – acceptable deductions vary from person to person.

4. Click Frenzy

Like Black Friday, Click Frenzy is another relatively recent arrival on the sales calendar, first surfacing in 2012.

The initiative was originally started by e-commerce company Global Marketplace and many retailers have since jumped on the bandwagon to drop prices for short periods of time at different points throughout the year.

The most reliable Click Frenzy sales occur in May and November, but some brands participate in smaller events in March and August.

Compared to the other sales we’ve covered so far, fewer retailers take part in Click Frenzy events and the sales themselves are fleeting, often lasting only four or five days.

Most Click Frenzy discounts we’ve seen over the years haven’t been as competitive as those offered during bigger events, usually sitting around 30%, but sometimes reaching as high as 70%.

Click Frenzy events have previously been held in partnership with cashback platforms. Beware of how much information you’re being asked to hand over if you take up a cashback offer – these platforms have previously been known to collect large amounts of shopping data and personal details.

5. Afterpay Day

Another bi-annual sales event, the Afterpay Day sales drop every March and August.

The event is organised by Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service Afterpay and many major retailers who let customers pay with Afterpay regularly take part.

You don’t need to use Afterpay to buy products at these sale prices, but you may need to engage the service to be eligible for separate reward schemes run by the company.

Like Click Frenzy, these sales can come and go in the blink of an eye, often only lasting for a few days.

It’s worth noting that users of BNPL services like Afterpay have found themselves in significant debt in the past, due to fewer regulations and consumer protections applying to these platforms.

But times have started to change – following campaigning by ����Vlog and other consumer advocates, these companies now have to comply with credit laws and be members of an independent dispute resolution scheme.

6. Amazon Prime Day

The Prime Day sales are run by e-commerce behemoth Amazon for several days every July.

Unsurprisingly, these sales are exclusive to Amazon’s shopping platforms and, what’s more, you may have to be a member of the company’s Prime service to get goods at sale prices.

While Amazon’s own products have previously made up a significant part of sales inventory, products from other manufacturers are also usually included.

Along with its main Prime Day event, Amazon has occasionally held a separate “Prime Big Deal Day” in October.

7. Flash sales

These sudden, time-limited discounts that can crop up at any time are a leading example of how the internet has changed the way we interact with brands.

With email and social media giving businesses a way to reach us any time of the day or night, retailers have capitalised on this access and sought to keep us engaged by occasionally dropping prices for “flash sales”.

These can be as short as 24 hours. Discounts often rival those we see during flagship events like Black Friday, but their fleeting nature means they can be easily missed.

8. Clearance deals

Clearance sales can also be unpredictable, but on the plus side, they last longer than flash deals and some large retailers host them reliably throughout the year.

For example, we often see large outlets like David Jones, Myer and Harvey Norman drop prices in the name of clearance in January, May and June. 

Some retailers may roll their clearance sales into or out of big sales events like Boxing Day and Black Friday.

Clearance sales can bring some uncharacteristically big discounts – for example, mattress brand Koala’s Black Friday and EOFY discounts tend to hover around 25–30%, but a clearance sale the company hosted last year saw it reduce prices on some products by half.

But it pays to remember what “clearance” actually means – retailers festooning their stores and websites with this message may be attempting to offload unpopular stock. 

Check ����Vlog reviews and compare prices to make sure you’re not being handed a poor-performing product.

9. Mid-season sales

Another sales trend with no set timeframe, we see these events pop up periodically throughout the year.

Pay attention during March-April and September – this is when we most consistently see mid-season discounts from major brands.

10. Special events

If that’s not enough, retailers have previously been known to host sales to coincide with Mother’s and Father’s Day.

But ����Vlog experts recommend checking if the products involved are actually being discounted.

“These ‘deals’ might be an attempt to re-package products to appeal to shoppers in a hurry,” says Serrels. “Compare prices to see if they actually represent a decent discount.”

If you keep an eye on a retailer’s emails or social media, you might also be given the opportunity to take advantage of birthday sales marking the anniversary of the business’ founding.

For example, last year retailer Appliances Online claimed to offer “huge savings” in celebration of its 20th birthday.

Finally, we’ve also seen retailers jumping on some sales trends that are relatively unknown to Australian consumers. 

In 2024, David Jones picked up on a trend among Chinese businesses and offered a ‘Singles’ Day’ sale, with discounts on beauty products.

Tips for shopping the sales

• Stay informed: Follow your favorite brands on social media and sign up to their email newsletters to catch sales as they’re announced.

• Look for the fine print: Look for details at the bottom of emails and promotions for any information on how long a sale will last for, to avoid being pressured to make a quick purchase.

• Compare prices: Consider using price tracking tools to compare prices and see how a sale discount compares to a product’s previous going rate – this will let you know if you’re actually getting a deal.

• Do your homework: Check ����Vlog reviews of a whole range of popular products to avoid buying a dud.

• Check return and delivery policies in advance: While retailers have to give you a refund, replacement or repair when a product is faulty, you’re not guaranteed a remedy if you simply change your mind.

• Avoid expensive add-ons: Don’t spoil your bargain by paying for accessories that could be cheaper elsewhere or an unnecessary extended warranty or shipping protection policy.

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With the Boxing Day sales having only just wrapped up, hot on the heels of Black Friday, the last few months might have felt like a non-stop frenzy of deals, ads and promotions urging you to spend.

In the midst of sales fever, we picked out deals on products good and bad, but in the wash up, we’ve examined retailer claims and found some brands were overselling how good their offers really were.

At ����Vlog we’ve seen plenty of sales and inflated ‘deals’ over the years, so here’s our tips on how to avoid getting sucked in this year.

Bigger spending, longer sales, more ads: Black Friday 2025

Last year’s Black Friday was another big one: according to the Commonwealth Bank, Australians spent $23.8 billion over two weeks during the sales period, which runs for most of November.

That’s $1 billion more than what the bank recorded in 2024 – a rise in popularity reflected in our own research, which in 2025 found that more consumers were planning to take advantage of what’s become Australia’s biggest shopping event.

But with the sales lasting longer and longer as more brands jump on the Black Friday trend, the flood of ads and promotions is prompting scepticism from shoppers.

When we surveyed 1009 consumers to get their thoughts on the event last year, 52% said they thought the discounts they were being offered during Black Friday weren’t always genuine.

Questionable claims uncovered

A close look at some of the promotions we saw during the 2025 Black Friday sales suggests few of those shoppers will be changing their minds any time soon.

We uncovered dubious promotions from two major appliance retailers who had made it appear as though their Black Friday sales were lasting longer than they really were.

The “extended” sales that weren’t

Winnings Appliances joined the Black Friday fray early last year, unveiling discounts and deals on products from several brands in an email to newsletter subscribers on 1 November.

Among the offers was $500 cashback on selected ZIP HydroTaps and 10% off selected AEG appliances – the fine print at the bottom of this email noted these “early access” deals would both run until 1 December.

Fast forward a month, and Winnings subscribers received welcome news – an extended Black Friday sale!

This missive contained several new discounts, along with the same offers on ZIP and AEG products as the 1 November email.

Winnings claimed these deals were among those granted an extension, but a check of the fine print confirmed both were still set to finish on 1 December.

In other words, the email claimed these two sales had been “extended” at the last minute to a date the retailer had already said a month ago that they would end on.

Winnings told us it wasn’t trying to mislead customers and that it takes the clarity and accuracy of its promotional communications seriously. The retailer says the “extended” claim had been applied to the ZIP and AEG deals in error.

Winnings says it reviews its internal processes in cases where there is the potential for “ambiguity” in its promotional messaging.

The sale that came back from the dead

January may not be a month many associate with miracles, but that’s what we got this year from Bing Lee, by way of the sudden re-appearance of a Black Friday sale that was already meant to be over.

Rewind to 28 November last year, and the retailer was bringing sad news to its email newsletter subscribers. 

With an announcement on a black background befitting the somber nature of the news, it announced the imminent end of its Black Friday sale, with “only four days remaining”.

It capped off a noble effort from the brand, which had kept discounts in place since the beginning of the month and timed its deals to end on 1 December – the day most retailers call quits on Black Friday. 

Bing Lee said at the time that its sales could be extended, but when 1 December came and went without any fanfare, we considered the company’s participation in Black Friday 2025 as kaput.

Imagine our surprise, then, when the retailer sent an email out of the blue over a month later on 4 January, announcing “Black Friday ends today!”

Caught off guard by this news of the sale that seemingly lived twice, we quickly searched Bing Lee’s online channels for a further glimpse of the miracle deals, but couldn’t find any.

Accepting the inevitable, we asked the company’s representatives if its 4 January announcement had been sent out by accident, but heard nothing back.

If Bing Lee’s sale had somehow lasted until the new year, it would easily be the longest we’ve ever seen a retailer stretch Black Friday – quite a milestone, considering the trend of businesses starting these sales earlier and ending them later every year.

What to look out for this year

Our observations in the case of the Winnings sale highlight how retailers may be giving away more information than consumers realise.

Next time you receive an email promoting the launch of a new sale, scroll past the big claims of grand discounts and time-limited deals, right down to the bottom to see if there’s information provided on when the sale is expected to last until.

While it is possible for discounted products to sell out early, we usually see big brands stick by these guides during major sale events.

Arm yourself with this information to pace your spending and take the time to check ����Vlog reviews and compare prices from different retailers to save yourself from paying too much for a poor performing product.

The post The strangest deals of Black Friday 2025 appeared first on ����Vlog.

Losing your economic footing makes you a prime target for exploitation, especially if you’ve already been victimised. That’s the consensus among 18 survivors of forced labour, human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery in Australia, as captured in a new report put out by a coalition of advocacy groups.

What’s unique about the report – called Learning from Experience and produced by Survivor Connections, Project Respect and Fair Futures – is that it’s based almost entirely on the firsthand views of these survivors.

Their successful escape from coerced servitude, they say, depended greatly on economic empowerment. In practical terms, that meant having reliable access to a place to live, work environments that took their previous trauma into account, education, financial guidance and peer support.

Strip away one or more of these lifelines as survivors struggle to rebuild their lives and the predatory bosses will be waiting to once again take advantage.

As one survivor involved in the project puts it: “Economic empowerment to me means that no one has power over you because of poverty or disadvantage. It means that you can thrive instead of fighting just to survive. It means when people do bad things to you, you have a way to do something about it.”

Another says: “If you have your own money, then you can live in your own place, you have your own control. I think just having access to resources and being able to be independent really changes everything.”

‘Need to be a part of the conversation’

These survivors have another critical message: the approaches that governments are currently taking to stop the continuing cycle of modern slavery in Australia simply aren’t working.

Director of Survivor Connections Sarah Schricker – who is herself a survivor – says “this project was born out of the need to be a part of the conversations about our economic recovery and empowerment, rather than just being the subjects of them”.

CEO of Fair Futures Fiona David says first-hand knowledge of what it takes to recover from exploitation should inform all anti-slavery efforts.

“Participants talked about major financial burdens they carried after their exploitation, such as having lost apartments they had owned, or being saddled with large debts related to their exploitation,” says David.

“Some described having to live constantly on the move, in their car with their children, either for safety reasons or for lack of housing. These are fixable issues that need to be urgently addressed.”

A five-point plan for reform

The report makes five key recommendations for reforming the way governments and other organisations deal with modern slavery.

1. Services for survivors of modern slavery should focus on restoring functional economic autonomy.
2. All anti-slavery efforts should be informed and guided by people with lived experience.
3. Support services should be expanded to focus on early intervention and prevention as well as long-term recovery.
4. Sustainable economic recovery for survivors should be embedded in all support programs.
5. Anti-slavery efforts across the board should be responsive to the trauma experienced by victims.

Executive director of Project Respect Carolyn Gowers says extensive consultation with people who have been victims is essential to making progress.

“It was important to us that the design of this project was truly survivor-led, to support unrestrained truth telling from survivors. Survivors responded, and were clear that they wanted their experiences known in order to influence positive system change. It is now up to all of us to make this change happen.”

Survivor Connections director of operations Matilda Constable-Webb says “prevention starts when systems listen. This report proves what happens when survivors are not just the subject of research, they are also the co-authors of solutions”.

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