This is because of the discounts they get through points, as well as other member benefits. ĚÇĐÄVlog research confirms the prevalence of these perceptions. In our latest Consumer Pulse surevey*, we asked people about the best way to get value for money when buying groceries; one in two people (54%) told us they believe reward or loyalty programs help them save money.

We’ve previously highlighted concerns about these programs, and those concerns remain. While you may enjoy accruing points for discounts at your supermarket there are definite cons. These include:

• more targeted marketing facilitated by the data collected on you could make you more likely to spend more
• you might be less likely to shop around for better prices
• you’ll be subject to more direct marketing 
• your data will be collected and shared by the companies running these programs. 

All of these can be significant drawbacks for some. 

But despite these concerns, there are still plenty of people using these programs. So will they save you money?

Are loyalty programs worth it?

ĚÇĐÄVlog has been collecting supermarket pricing data for more than two years now, and we’ve done some calculations based on that data to determine whether using an Everyday Rewards or Flybuys membership will actually save you money on your groceries.

We found that it didn’t, and here’s why.Ěý

Our calculations show that even when using your loyalty programs to accrue points and earn discounts at Coles and Woolworths, you’ll still be paying more for your groceries than you would if you shopped at Aldi, or switched between supermarkets to take advantage of specials. Staying loyal to one supermarket over another is almost certainly costing you money. 

How we calculated the costs

Since 2024 we’ve been conducting quarterly basket surveys across the country, checking the prices of a range of items at Aldi, Coles, Woolworths and IGA. Using that data, we’ve calculated how much you would have spent if you shopped for the items in our grocery basket at Aldi (which we’ve found to be the cheapest in all of our grocery basket surveys so far) versus buying comparable baskets at Coles and Woolworths (without specials), over the course of a year.

We then took the value of the points you’d have earned with your loyalty program and calculated how much you could save, according to the terms and conditions of the programs in question. 

Both Flybuys and Everyday Rewards offer $10 off a shop when you accrue 2000 points, and the base offer is one point per dollar spent. In addition, both programs also give users various options to increase the value of the points gained from each purchase. Because these options for boosting points change often and may be different for different users, we’ve not included them in our calculations. 

We’ve also only factored in the points you’d accumulate with your supermarket shopping, but with both Everyday Rewards and Flybuys you can also acquire points by shopping at partner businesses.

Our scenario:

• You buy every item we survey in our quarterly grocery baskets once a week for three months.
• To work out how much you’d spend, we take the average cost of the total basket per quarter per supermarket, multiply it by 13 (the number of weeks in three months), which gives us a total quarterly cost.
• We do the same for each quarter then add the four quarters together to give us a yearly total. 
• We calculate the points value for Flybuys and Everyday Rewards and compare the savings (based on $10 per 2000 points, where $1 equals 1 point) to the savings made if you’d shopped at Aldi, where the totals of our surveyed baskets were lowest in every quarter. Our baskets typically included a mix of fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy and packaged foods. However, we only ever shop for a much smaller basket of items than the typical shopper would buy. 

So how much would you have saved?

Looking at the data for our average costs for the products we surveyed at Coles, Woolworths and Aldi in the four quarters of our 2025 surveys (March, June, September and December), we calculated that the total spend at Aldi would have been $3368.30. At Woolworths, our comparable basket cost $3911.32, while at Coles it was $3962.14. 

Given that each dollar spent earns you one point and that 2000 points gives you a $10 discount, that means you’d earn just $10 across the year for these purchases, which still leaves you paying significantly more than you would at Aldi. 

But what if you earn double the points and get a 10% discount (up to $50 at both Coles and Woolworths) once a month, an offer that’s available to both Coles and Woolworths shoppers who sign up to either Coles Plus Saver or Woolworths Everyday Extra? 

Taking into account those savings and the double points (minus the cost of membership which is $7 a month), across the year you’d save $15.05 at Coles and $13.78 at Woolworths. In other words, you’d still have been far better off buying the cheaper groceries at Aldi. 

More than just points

Of course, this is a hypothetical situation that looks just at the products in our survey, and many fans of the loyalty programs tell us that they make more of their membership by taking advantage of the deals they’re offered. 

Plus, membership of one of these programs doesn’t only earn you some savings on your groceries. There are additional incentives, including discounts on your fuel and insurance, plus alerts and reminders when your regularly purchased products are on sale, possible discounts on grocery deliveries and the ability to use your points for travel.Ěý

All of these can make the programs more attractive and we haven’t factored in any of these savings in our calculations. 

We also know that some shoppers buy their insurance through Coles and Woolworths, taking advantage of the bonus points and ongoing incentives that they earn on their Everyday Rewards and Flybuys membership. 

However, when our insurance experts examined these products they weren’t impressed. While savings on your groceries are great, insufficient insurance coverage or tricky caps or exclusions could leave you regretting your decision if you ever need to claim. 

While it’s difficult to put an accurate number on their value, it’s likely that to make the most of your loyalty program you will need to take advantage of the special offers, because the points accrued from simply shopping at the same store each week have little value. 

Even then, you may need to shop around to get the best deals and take advantage of sales. Remember, ultimately, the supermarkets who run these programs are looking to maximise their profit and keeping you loyal is a way to do that. 

How much do shoppers think they save?

Our research shows that many members of these programs see real value in their membership. In fact, when we asked about their savings in our recent Consumer Pulse survey, they told us that they estimated they were saving around $234 per year, on average, using their Woolworths loyalty Everyday Rewards card and around $214 with Flybuys.

However, if you’re only using your membership for the points and hoping it will add up to enough of a discount to make shopping around for better prices unnecessary, we think you should consider exactly how much those points are worth before deciding to stay loyal to your supermarket. 

It’s also worth remembering that if you’re only sticking to one store because you are focused on building your points balance, you may be missing out on better prices elsewhere. While it can be more work to compare prices at different stores (if that’s even an option for you), finding the best price is probably worth the effort, even if it means you are missing out on points from a more expensive purchase. 

* ĚÇĐÄVlog Consumer Pulse was conducted in March 2026 among 1096 Australian households, representative of the Australian population based on the 2021 ABS Census data.Ěý

Save at the checkout. Find out who has the cheapest groceries and avoid dodgy sales tactics.

Sign up

Read our privacy policy

The post Do supermarket loyalty programs actually save you money? appeared first on ĚÇĐÄVlog.

It’s hard to keep track of the many ways the two big supermarkets push us into paying more. The recent court win by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) against Coles for deceptive promo pricing shined a light on just one example. It’s no surprise to many shoppers that the ACCC is pursuing a parallel case against Woolworths for the same sort of conduct.

Fake promotions on certain products trick us into believing we’re bagging a bargain, but grocery pricing manipulation goes much deeper than this. In 2023, we gave Coles and Woolworths a Shonky for pursuing excessive profit margins throughout their stores.

It was all the less palatable that this was happening in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. The duopoly claimed the higher prices reflected their higher costs, but neither shoppers nor the ACCC bought it.

The federal government has taken notice of our efforts to expose supermarket price gouging in recent years, and in December last year it announced a new excessive grocery pricing prohibition to be enforced by the ACCC.

This ambitious measure comes into effect on 1 July 2026. Will it mean grocery prices will noticeably decrease? It is far too soon to tell, but regulatory intervention in such a highly concentrated sector at least holds the promise of a win for consumers. The prohibition applies to supermarkets with an annual revenue of more than $30 billion, which would currently only include Coles and Woolworths.

“The excessive pricing prohibition provides us with another tool within our broader toolkit to protect consumers and promote competition in the supermarket sector,” says ACCC acting chair Catriona Lowe, adding that the competition watchdog will focus its attention on products “where excessive pricing is likely to cause the most harm to consumers”.

Consumer vigilance has been a big part of unearthing supermarket pricing tactics, and Lowe says the ACCC invites both shoppers and supermarket suppliers to blow the whistle on excessively priced products following the introduction of the ban.

How will pricing monitoring work?

It goes without saying that Coles, Woolworths and other major grocery retailers should be allowed to be profitable like any other business. The question is whether the profits are coming at an unreasonable expense to consumers, given that essential services don’t get much more essential than food.

The prohibition gives the ACCC the power to open the supermarkets’ books to check on the difference between how much they’re paying suppliers for products and how much they’re asking customers to pay.

If the gap is too wide, it could be a case of excessive pricing. Retailers found to be fleecing consumers could be fined $10 million, three times the value of the benefit derived or 10% of their annual turnover during the preceding 12 months, whichever is greater.

“The government has progressed critical reforms on price transparency and unit pricing, but these measures need to be delivered quickly, in tandem with the new excessive pricing regime, in order to adequately restore fairness at the checkout,” says ĚÇĐÄVlog senior policy and campaigns adviser Bea Sherwood.

“Excessive pricing is also not confined to the major supermarkets. Consumers are feeling the pinch across a range of essential services and the government should introduce an economy-wide price gouging regime to stamp out unfair pricing wherever it occurs.”

Price gouging hard to prove

The ACCC has acknowledged that it will be a formidable task to catch supermarkets out, given the innate complexity of product pricing across thousands of products.

Associate Professor Dr Meg Elkins of RMIT University says “the law’s real test won’t be in court, it’ll be in the public’s gut. Shoppers don’t compare prices to a retailer’s costs, they compare them to what they remember paying last time”.

“The law’s test is cost-based, asking whether the price is excessive relative to the cost of supply. But the public’s test is memory-based, asking whether this price is higher than expected,” she explains.

Prices increases due to a bad harvest or rising freight costs “will still feel like gouging at the checkout,” Elkins adds.

“The law doesn’t define what ‘excessive’ means, or what counts as a reasonable margin. That’s not a drafting oversight – it reflects how genuinely hard this is to pin down. Supermarkets sell thousands of products with shared costs, so isolating one item’s true margin is close to impossible.”

But granular analysis appears to be possible. The ACCC’s case against Coles focused on 245 everyday products sold between February 2022 and May 2023, where prices were increased by at least 15% for a short time and then placed on a ‘Down Down’ promotion.

The ACCC was able to determine that promo prices were the same or higher than the previous regular prices. The court case focused on 14 representative promotions. Penalties have yet to be determined.

The post Ban on excessive grocery pricing to focus on key products appeared first on ĚÇĐÄVlog.

As we begin the third year of our quarterly grocery basket survey, we’ve made some more changes to the contents of our baskets. 

As always, we aim to compare like-for-like products across the major supermarkets to help you find the best value. This quarter, our mix of fresh and packaged foods is a snapshot of the sorts of products you might choose on a regular basis, as well as some that might be more likely to make their way into your basket during the colder months.

On this page:

• The cheapest supermarket in our survey
• Base basket prices
• Spotlight: The winter comforts basket
• What’s in our basket?
• How closely matched are Coles and Woolies?
• How does IGA compare
• Does where you live make a difference to grocery prices?
• What our results mean for consumers
• How we survey supermarkets

The cheapest supermarket in our survey

Without including specials, our full basket of 16 items cost $68.80 at Aldi, $77.53 at Woolworths and $78.58 at Coles. At IGA our basket cost $91.65.

We always choose carefully to ensure we’re selecting the most comparable products at each store. For this survey, that means the baskets from Coles and Woolworths contain three name-brand products (Arnott’s Tim Tams, Kleenex tissues and Chicken Tonight cooking sauce) while the Aldi basket only contains one (Tim Tams).

Because its home-brand ranges aren’t as extensive, the IGA basket had five name-brand products (Nanna’s Apple Snack Pies and Birds Eye Golden Crunch Beer Batter Chips, as well as the Tim Tams, tissues and cooking sauce).

Prices with specials

When you take into account the savings from the specials available when we shopped, the cost of our basket at Aldi stayed the same at $68.60. It cost $76.82 at Woolworths, $78.50 at Coles and $86.33 at IGA. 

During our fieldwork, we found there were specials available at some but not all IGA locations. Where the reductions were available, it gave IGA the best deal on Tim Tams, thanks to a $2 reduction. They also had discounts at some of their stores on frozen chips, cooking sauce, tissues, whole chickens and frozen apple pies. 

A special on tissues at Woolworths was responsible for the increased gap between the cost of their basket and the higher price we paid at Coles. 

It’s worth noting that when we conducted this survey in March, it was prior to military action in the Middle East that saw fuel prices soar and created the potential for a knock-on effect on the pricing of nearly all goods that rely on freight distribution. We expect to see the effect of any related increases in our next survey.  

Base basket prices

In our base basket of eight items, which in the third year of our quarterly surveys contains apples, bananas, strawberries, potatoes, avocado, milk, rice and beef mince, and without including specials, Aldi was cheapest at $37.14, followed by Woolworths $40.08, Coles $40.10 and IGA $45.42. 

Looking at our base basket list (with specials), we find that Aldi remains the same, Coles drops by eight cents to $40.02, Woolworths stays the same and IGA falls to $45.34. 

The difference between the IGA and Aldi baskets was primarily driven by four items: mince, potatoes, strawberries and avocado, which accounted for more than 80% of the total gap. The difference in prices was smaller for apples, bananas, milk and rice.

Spotlight: The winter comforts basket

If you’re changing things up a little this winter to include the kinds of items that help get you through the colder months, this survey includes some of those comfort foods and cold-weather staples you might decide to add to your trolley.

Our basket included Tim Tam Original biscuits, snack-sized apple pies, frozen chips, cooking sauce, large tissues and a whole chicken (for that comforting roast), and we rounded it out with a leek (essential for those winter soups) and green beans. 

When looking at the balance of home-brand products vs branded products in our ‘spotlight’ selection of packaged food, it should be noted that we always choose products that are as closely comparable as possible, looking at factors such as their ingredients and pack sizes. In this spotlight, the Aldi basket included one name-brand item (Tim Tams), the Coles and Woolworths baskets included three name-brand products, and the IGA basket included five name-brand products. The full list for each store is given below.

Of the five packaged foods in this selection, we bought one name-brand item at Aldi (Tim Tam biscuits) and the rest were home-brand. At Coles and Woolworths there were three name-brand products, and at IGA we included five name-brand items. Products were chosen based on the similarity of ingredients and pack sizes. The precise list for each store is given below.

Without specials, Aldi proved to be the best value for this selection of items, costing $31.46, Woolworths cost $37.45 and Coles $38.48. IGA was the most expensive at $46.23. 

When we factored in specials, neither the Coles or Aldi baskets changed, Woolworths fell by $0.71 to $36.74, while IGA had the biggest fall from $46.23 to $40.99. 

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:

• Beef mince
• Whole chicken
• Royal Gala apples
• Cavendish bananas
• Strawberries
• Avocado
• Leek
• Green beans
• Potatoes
• Full cream milk
• Basmati rice
• Honey mustard cooking sauce
• Beer-battered frozen chips
• Frozen apple pies
• Tim Tam biscuits
• Large tissues

For all items we chose, we considered a range of factors such as ingredients, country of origin, other product specifications 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 March 2026.

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

Store by store lists

How closely matched are Coles and Woolies?

When comparing our base basket of eight items (apples, strawberries, potatoes, bananas, avocado, milk, basmati rice and mince) very little separates the big two.

Woolworths was just two cents cheaper when comparing prices without specials, but Coles drew ahead to be six cents cheaper than Woolworths, thanks to a special on beef mince. 

The differences were greater when we compared the full basket of 16 items: Woolworths was $1.05 cheaper than Coles (without specials) and $1.68 cheaper with specials. 

Most items at the two stores are identical or very similar in price, and although apples are cheaper on average at Coles, Woolworths had lower prices for potatoes and apple pies, and offered a special on tissues, which tipped the balance in its favour.

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 16 items (with specials) cost $17.73 more on average from IGA than the same basket of goods cost us at Aldi. 

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. 

The prices in different states varied very little between Aldi stores, although we do see some differences for fruit and vegetables. Like Aldi, Woolworths prices were fairly consistent nationally, with fruit and vegetables again accounting for most of the differences between the states.

At Coles, we found more variation, with shoppers in the Northern Territory paying slightly higher prices for Tim Tams, cooking sauces and tissues. Again, differences between the states were mostly driven by variation in the cost of fruit and vegetables.

In South Australia, where Coles shoppers paid less than in other states, lower prices for apples, bananas and potatoes were a big driver of the difference.

As we’ve seen in previous surveys, IGA shoppers experienced the greatest variation in prices between states: IGA customers in the Northern Territory paid on average $33.30 more than those shopping in Victoria ($109.69 vs $76.39) for our full basket of 16 items (with specials).

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. 

Changing the store you shop at, if that’s an option for you, is one way to find those savings. But 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 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 in-store.
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 fruit and veg a go. Also, don’t be afraid to try home-brand products. Our expert testing often finds these ranges often outperform more expensive options at all the supermarkets. 

None of these things can change the fact that we are still paying significantly more for our groceries than we were just a few years ago, but making some small changes can add up to significant savings, without compromising quality.

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 March 2026. 

Supermarket locations were chosen to give good coverage of socio-economic status based on ABS Indexes and geographic spread across the country. We surveyed 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 16 grocery items in each basket (7 fresh and 9 packaged items).

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

The post Which supermarket has the cheapest groceries in our survey? appeared first on ĚÇĐÄVlog.

Before you get caught up in a shopping frenzy, there are some products you should avoid, even if they’re massively discounted. Sure it’s hard to pass up a bargain, but these products just aren’t worth it, no matter how tempting the sale price may be.

ĚÇĐÄVlog has done the hard work for you so you don’t end up with a dud in the sales. Our expert testers put household appliances through their paces in our labs so we know which ones are the good buys, and which ones to avoid. 

Plus, we have tips for how to save money on new appliances in the EOFY sales, as well as extra advice for shopping the EOFY sales.

On this page:

• Fridges
• Washing machines 
• Mattresses
• TVs
• Robot vacuums
• Dishwashers
• Coffee machines
• Dryers 
• Air fryers
• Stick vacuums

Fridges

A fridge is often a grudge purchase, made hastily when your existing fridge dies.

But if you’re thinking ahead and want to upgrade your current fridge with a good deal from the sales, take a breath before you get swept up in the bargain fever.

If you shop without researching, you could end up with a fridge that’ll cost you more in the long term in the form of big power bills and food that’s gone off too quickly. 

You’ll also lose out twice over if you buy an expensive fridge that performs poorly. Two doubly disappointing fridges are a $4000 Smeg fridge and a $3000 French-door Bosch, which both scored a ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating of just 43%. That’s a big price tag for poor performance.

Their biggest sins? A temperature stability score of just 13% for the Bosch fridge and a shocking 0% for the Smeg fridge.

This metric measures how much the fridge temperature fluctuates. A low score means you can expect things like your ice cream melting and refreezing, your food spoiling or not staying at safe temperatures to prevent food-borne illness. 

So for the low, low price of $4000, you can expect spoiled food or a delightful case of food poisoning.

Lowest rated fridges in our test:

• Hisense HRSBS649SW: ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating: 40%; Price: $1599
• Smeg FAB32RPB5AU: 43%; $4290
• Bosch KFN96VPEAA: 43%; $3299
• Haier HRF420BHC: 43%; $1399

Washing machines

Let’s be real: there’s probably a thousand things you’d rather spend your money on than a washing machine. But if you’re going to buy one, you might as well make sure it’s good. 

A lacklustre washing machine won’t only fail to make your whites whiter and your colours brighter, it’ll chew through electricity and water – which will cost you (and the environment) even more in the long run. 

Check our washing machine reviews to make sure you’re buying the best. 

Lowest scoring washers in our test:

Top loaders:

• Chiq WTL64FDB: ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating: 57%; Price: $399
• Westinghouse WWT8084J7WA: 59%; $1199
• Haier HWT60AA1: 61%; $639

Front loaders:

• Electrolux EWF1243R7SCS: ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating: 68%; Price: $1099
• Solt GGSFLW60: 68%; $499
• Hisense HWFS1015AB: 69%; $999
• LG WV6-1409W: 69%; $1099

Mattresses

A mattress should last you about eight to 10 years.

If you’re clocking up the recommended eight hours’ sleep each night, that means you’ll be spending more than 29,000 hours up close and personal with your mattress. 

And some of the mattresses we’ve tested cost more than $5000. This is one purchase you definitely don’t want to mess up.

We use high-tech labs in Europe to test mattresses, assessing things like comfort, sagging, stabilisation, sweat resistance and more. 

One of the mattresses at the bottom of the heap costs nearly more than $2500 at full price, so it just goes to show there’s no correlation between price and performance. 

In fact, all of these mattresses scored worse than a $200 foam mattress from Kmart, which really demonstrates the value of doing your research before buying. 

Lowest scoring mattresses in our test:

• Original Mattress Factory Refresh: ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating: 62%; Price: $2798
• Slumberland Soho: 65%; $579
• Suparest Affinity: 66%; $599

TVs

Poor sound quality, so-so standard definition picture quality and humdrum high-def picture quality are some of the delights that await you if you buy a TV that performed poorly in our expert tests. 

You don’t necessarily need to spend top dollar for a top TV: five of the 65-inch TVs that our experts recommend cost less than $2000, and you may be able to pick them up for even less in the sales.

If you want to dodge a B-grade box, here’s the ones that landed on the bottom of our latest test. Best to fast forward on these ones.

Lowest scoring TVs in our test:

• Ffalcon FF32S55 (32 inches): ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating: 64%; Price: $199
• ChiQ U65M10F (65 inches): 66%; $699
• TCL 32S5K (32 inches): 66%; $299
• Hisense 65Q6QAU (65 inches): 67%; $1099
• Philips 32PHT6529/79 (31 inches): 67%; $299

Robot vacuums

A robot vac sadly won’t free you completely from the vacuuming, but it is a good way to stay on top of it in between deep cleans.

They’re not cheap, though, so it’s extra important to choose one that’s worth the money.

Even if you find these bots heavily discounted, we suggest you look elsewhere – we found these machines just didn’t compute for a good clean you could count on.

• Kmart Anko Robotic Vacuum: ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating: 36%; Price: $169
• TP-Link Tapo RV20 Max Plus: 55%; $499
• Eureka E20 Plus: 56%; $1071

Dishwashers

A good dishwasher will save you hours of slaving over a full sink. A bad one will create even more work for you and will empty your wallet. 

Our kitchen experts have tested almost 70 currently available dishwasher models, comparing them side-by-side on their ability to handle dried-on foods like egg yolk, spinach, butter, oats, rice starch and more. 

We’ve been doing this for decades, so we know exactly what makes a good dishwasher and what will leave you elbow-deep in greasy washing-up water. 

There are three Haiers in this list, but don’t write off the brand altother: others scored better in our testing.

Check our detailed dishwasher reviews to see which ones are better buys.

Lowest scoring dishwashers in our test:

• Omega ODW101W: ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating: 58%; Price: $799
• Haier HDW15F2S1: 61%; $1299
• Haier HDW13F0S1: 62%; $749
• Haier HDW15F2S1: 64%; $999

Coffee machines

If you’re as serious about coffee as our experts are, then you’ll know how important it is to buy a coffee machine that ticks all the boxes. 

Whether you’re looking for a manual coffee machine so you can geek out on grinds, dosing and tamping, or you’re a lazy coffee lover who just wants a caffeine hit at the press of a button, it’s important to get it just right. After all, is there anything worse than a bad coffee first thing in the morning? 

When we test coffee machines, we enlist industry experts to blind taste test coffee from each machine, and we also assess ease of use, milk frothing and temperature consistency in our testing labs. 

To make sure you don’t end up with a dud machine that’ll leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth, check out our pod, semi-automatic and manual coffee machine reviews, and our automatic espresso machine reviews.

Lowest scoring capsule machines in our tests:

• Espressotoria System Piccolo: ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating: 39%; Price: $125
• MZBG Etika Capsule Machine: 42%; $129
• L’OR Sublime Compact (LM9012/60): 52%; $89

Lowest scoring semi-automatic machines in our tests:

• Sunbeam Prima Latte: ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating: 54%; Price: $299
• DeLonghi Classic Manual Coffee Machine (EM450.M): 55%; $189
• Breville The Oracle BES980: 60%; $2749

Lowest scoring manual machines in our tests:

• Kmart Anko Compact Espresso: ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating: 57%; Price: $79
• Breville Duo-Temp Pro: 59%; $429
• Contempo Espresso Machine: 64%; $79
• Kmart Retro Espresso Coffee Machine: 64%; $79

Lowest scoring automatic coffee machines in our tests:

• Dr Coffee H1 Automatic Coffee Machine: ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating: 46%; Price: $1315
• Gaggia Anima Prestige: 51%; $1599
• Gaggia Cadorna Prestige: 55%; $1899
• Saeco Royal OTC SUP060: 55%; $1999

Clothes dryers

The key to shopping for a clothes dryer is to find the sweet spot between quick drying and low energy use.

There are a few different types of machines on the market, so if you’re not sure what’s best for you, here’s how to buy the best clothes dryer . 

There’s also a little more to using a dryer than just chucking wet clothes in and pressing ‘start’: check out our laundry expert’s tips to avoid dryer disasters.

One word of advice from our whitegoods experts: “Don’t splurge on an expensive heat pump dryer if you don’t use your dryer very often – they’re more energy efficient than a vented dryer so they cost a lot less to run.

“But because they cost so much more to buy, unless you’re using it regularly you may be better off overall buying a cheap and cheery vented number, as you might never make back the initial outlay.”

Lowest scoring dryers in our test:

• Bosch WQG24200AU (heat pump): ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating: 63%; Price: $1749
• Haier HDV70AWW1 (vented): 65%; $689
• Beko BDPB904HW (heat pump): 67%; $1649
• Bosch WTH83001AU (heat pump): 67%; $899

Air fryers

The kitchen appliance du jour is on many people’s EOFY shopping list. 

Converts rave about their convenience, ease of use and ability to cook foods that previously could only be done in the oven – think marinated chicken wings, roast pork, chicken nuggets and more. 

Their running costs are also cheap as chips (air fried ones, naturally), so if you pick up a bargain air fryer you’ll save at the till and hopefully on your power bill, too. 

However, not all of them live up to the hype. Here are the ones to avoid in the sales, even if you find them cheap. 

Lowest scoring air fryers in our test:

• Kitchen Couture Dual View Stainless Steel Air Fryer: ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating: 67%; Price: $200
• Sunbeam Multi Zone Air Fryer AFP6000BK: 68%; $299
• Sunbeam 22L Multi Function Oven + Air Fryer: 69%; $299

Stick vacuums

A good stick vacuum can make quick cleans a breeze, but poor performers can give you the rough end of the stick and leave you doing more laps at home just to bust all the dust. 

Our experts thoroughly tested more than 50 popular models, and found these sticks that you should give the flick. 

Lowest scoring stick vacs in our test:

• LG A9 Ace: ĚÇĐÄVlog Expert Rating: 51%; Price: $399
• Makita 18V Mobile Vacuum Cleaner Kit: 56%; $149
• i-Vac Animal S50 Stick Vacuum: 58%; $299

Know the products to avoid before you shop. Get our free guide and buy smarter.

Sign up

Read our privacy policy

The post Products to avoid in the EOFY sales appeared first on ĚÇĐÄVlog.

But fortunately, there’s something to take your mind off the looming paperwork: the end of financial year (EOFY) sales.

Retailers are keen to offload their old stock and shoppers are keen to nab a bargain. It’s a win for both parties – as long as your hot deal doesn’t turn out to be a discount disappointment.

There are definitely some EOFY buys that we suggest you avoid, but you can often find sales on products that ĚÇĐÄVlog experts rate highly, so if you do your research you can pick up a superior product for a song.

Here are some EOFY sales tips for savvy shoppers to help you get the best deal for your dollar. Plus, exclusively for ĚÇĐÄVlog members, we’ll reveal which products are worth your hard-earned money.

If you just want to get straight to the best products, you can jump straight to the results now.

Smart shopping tips to live by

Before you hit the sales with credit cards blazing, there are some key things to keep in mind. 

1. Expensive doesn’t always mean better

Our product test results regularly disprove the age-old adage that ‘you get what you pay for’. Our experts often see pricey products underperform, while cheaper, lesser-known ones shine. 

That’s why it pays to do your homework and check our reviews.

Head to our list of overpriced and underperforming products for further proof of expensive fails.

2. Good brands sometimes make poor products 

It’s another unexpected result our experts see all the time in our tests.

A brand can boast some of the best performing products in a category… and some terrible ones too. 

It all depends on the build quality and design of each product, which is why individual product reviews are so vital. 

3. Don’t believe everything you read

Sure, one site is offering 20% off its usual price, but was it more expensive to start with compared to others? 

Before you ‘add to cart’, it’s worth playing the field and sizing up the best deal – and assessing delivery costs and times, too. 

Here’s what you need to know for the 2026 EOFY sales. 

The best from our tests: What to buy in the EOFY sales

We test hundreds of products in our labs each year, so our experts know what’s worth spending your money on.

A ĚÇĐÄVlog membership can save you money by helping you avoid overpriced duds and choose the best products for your budget.

Only members can access our detailed testing data. If you’re not yet a member, join ĚÇĐÄVlog to get instant access to all of our expert, independent reviews

Or if you’re already a ĚÇĐÄVlog member, you can see the top-rated products for each category in one easy-to-read rundown below.

The post EOFY best buys: Member exclusive appeared first on ĚÇĐÄVlog.

Our research shows there are some good bargains to be found – if you shop smartly and strategically. But there are also often discounted duds that should be avoided at all costs. 

EOFY sales also come with a few well-practised retail tricks – designed to make you feel like you’ve bagged a great deal and saved money, even if you’ve spent more than planned, or you’ve bought a poor-performing product that’s been languishing on the shelf for a reason.

With so many retailers competing for your cash in less than scrupulous ways, it pays to shop with one eyebrow raised.

Here are the EOFY sales traps that catch shoppers out every year – and how to make sure your next purchase is genuinely good value.

1. Discounted duds

We consistently see retailers using the EOFY sales to clear out old and unwanted stock. The shine of a big discount usually dulls when you realise they’re just giving you money off a product no-one else wants.

Undercover ĚÇĐÄVlog shoppers have already spotted a host of products that were poorly rated by experts in our testing, now being spruiked in the sales at discounted price.

Remember, just because something is advertised at a reduced price, it doesn’t mean it’s a good buy.

2. Fake urgency

Messages like “Only 2 left!” or “Must buy, sale ends soon!” are designed to create pressure and reduce comparison shopping, even when stock levels aren’t genuinely limited and sales periods can be extended at any time.

After last year’s Black Friday sales, ĚÇĐÄVlog found two major retailers overstating how good their offers really were and how long consumers had to take advantage of them.

“Remember, the end of financial year sale is just one event on a jam-packed sales calendar,”  says ĚÇĐÄVlog editorial director Mark Serrels.

“There’s no need to panic buy, because we continue to see heavy discounting happen more regularly across the entire year. Last year we saw EOFY sales extend into July in some cases.

“It’s better to take your time to do your research and ensure you get a good deal,” he says.

3. Brand blindness

Do you know someone who always buys an iPhone, consistently swears by Smeg appliances, or refuses to try an alternative brand of coffee? 

Brand loyalty is the tendency for consumers to repeatedly choose the same brand over competitors, whether it’s because they’ve had a positive past experience, the brand is familiar or has earned their trust in some way, or they have a perception of quality or an emotional connection. 

ĚÇĐÄVlog experts warn that this ‘brand blindness’ during a sales period like EOFY can get in the way of a good deal, and ultimately cost you money. 

“ĚÇĐÄVlog testing consistently finds that products from the same brand can vary wildly in performance – we see this with many big brands like Breville, Smeg, Dyson, and more,” says Mark.

“Buying on brand name alone without doing your research could mean you end up with a dud product. Make sure you check expert product reviews on an independent site like ĚÇĐÄVlog before you buy.”

4. Unnecessary extended warranties and other costly add-ons

Ever get to the instore checkout and a super chatty salesperson convinces you “it’s a good idea” to buy some “extra protection” in case something goes wrong? These extended warranties (sometimes also called “protection” or “product care” plans) cost extra, but most of them aren’t worth it.

“Extended warranties are often no more than a sneaky sales tactic that make you pay more for protections you already have under Australian Consumer Law,” says Mark.

“Ask the salesperson: ‘What does this give me in addition to the rights I already have under Australian Consumer Law?’ And read the fine print before signing up.” 

When you’re shopping online, be aware of any ‘add-ons’ that might automatically be added to your cart at checkout. Online sites often offer added “protections” such as extra shipping protection, shipping insurance or transit cover policies.

Policies tend to range in cost from a few dollars up to $25. What they provide and how it’s sold to you varies widely, so make sure you read the fine print to see if it’s actually offering you anything of value.

5. Scam shopping sites and unscrupulous online marketplaces

When buying anything online, ideally use familiar retailers and make sure you’re on a genuine website. Scammers are notorious for creating fake websites that imitate popular retailers in order to steal money and information from shoppers. These sites often look very similar to those of legitimate stores.

“Be wary of unusual URLs, red flags like lots of pop-up windows, requests to use an unusual payment method such as money transfer, or prices that seem too good to be true,” says Mark.

“If you’re unsure, you can enlist the help of fellow consumers who might have had previous experience with the outlet.

“You can find reviews of websites on services like Google or Trustpilot, as well as on social media. If the website you’re using is a scam, there’s a chance victims might be using these forums to warn others.”

Read our guidance on 6 ways to spot a scam website.

You should also be wary of buying potentially unsafe or illegal products. ĚÇĐÄVlog recently sounded the alarm on the scale of harm being caused by unsafe products sold online by retailers such as Shein, Temu, AliExpress and more.

Know the products to avoid before you shop. Get our free guide and buy smarter.

Sign up

Read our privacy policy

The post End of Financial Year sales traps to avoid appeared first on ĚÇĐÄVlog.

The 2026 end of the financial year (EOFY) sales are here and retailers and manufacturers are dropping prices on lots of products in the lead up to June 30.

In the past few weeks, we’ve seen major retailers such as JB Hi-Fi, Bing Lee and Amazon, and manufacturers like Samsung and Lenovo, cut prices on their stock by as much as 70%.

Every day brings more sales, and while we have seen quality products selling cheaper than normal, EOFY can also be a chance for retailers to offload unpopular items, leading to dud products getting mixed in among bargain stock.Ěý

In fact, some of the most attention-grabbing markdowns we’ve seen so far are on products that have performed poorly in our reviews.

So how can you avoid ending up with one of these poor performers? 

As an independent expert tester of many of the products being slapped with EOFY markdowns, ĚÇĐÄVlog is uniquely able to shine a light on the actual quality of what’s being sold.

Read on to find some of the best prices we’ve spotted so far for products our experts have tested and recommend (available exclusively to ĚÇĐÄVlog members).

But first, we’ll reveal the deals you’d be smart to avoid.

On this page:

• EOFY deals to avoid
• EOFY deals worth considering

EOFY deals to avoid

Even at their lower EOFY prices, you might find these products are outperformed by cheaper alternatives in our tests.

However, some of these items could have unique strengths that suit your circumstances, so check our reviews for the breakdown of the pros and cons we found for each.

Rejected robo vacs

The Eureka E20 Plus might look like a good EOFY find, going for almost half price at Amazon, but this model didn’t make it anywhere near the top of the table when our testers put it and 19 other robot vacuum cleaners through their paces.

Our testers concluded it might best be put to use as an expensive amusement. It visibly struggled to negotiate furniture, rugs, carpet and pets, often knocking into the same object over and over again.

When it eventually got around to cleaning, it couldn’t do that very well either, recording the worst mopping score of any robo vac we tested.

Meanwhile, anyone perusing clearance sales at Myer and Betta may have noticed these retailers trying to shift the iRobot Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo out of their stores by way of discounts as high as 42%.

But consumers are the ones who should be moving on: this robo vac has middling performance in many areas. To make matters worse, our testers found that the app you need to operate the device was buggy and difficult to use.

Over at The Good Guys, another Roomba, the Plus 505 Combo, has been branded a “Top Deal”  – a label incongruent with its bottom-level performance.

This model came close to last in our latest robo vac review, marked down for being bad at picking up dirt and mopping, as well as being noisy and suffering regular glitches.

Ho-hum heaters

Perfectly aligned with the start of winter, EOFY is a great time to grab a heater. But steer clear of these models, whose mediocre performance will leave you shivering.

Coming equal-last in our latest electric heater review, with a rating from our experts of just 53%, it’s no surprise the Rinnai PEPH-22PEW has ended up among the clearance stock at Bing Lee.

It was labelled one of our heaters to avoid last month, marked down by our experts for having borderline performance and only one heat setting.

On the larger side of EOFY discounts, the DeLonghi Dragon 4 is going for $200 less than usual at Myer.

But you certainly will get less with this heater: our testers rated its performance as only ok, and found its settings difficult to use.

Dodgy dishwashers

Two Haier dishwashers – the HDW15F2S1 and HDW13F0S1 – are among the crop of EOFY deals at electrical retailer E&S, going for 25% cheaper than normal, according to the company.

It might sound like a deal, but beware: both of these models featured in our recent rundown of dishwashers to avoid after we found them to be bad at cleaning plates and expensive to run.

The HDW15F2S1 tries to compensate for this by being Wi-Fi-enabled, but whether that’s more useful than actually getting clean dishes is debatable.

Washed-up washing machines

The washing woes continue for Haier. There are two top-loader washing machines from the manufacturer marked down by our testers among sale stock at E&S, Betta and Harvey Norman.

Already notably cheap at full price, the HWT60AA1 and HWT75AA1 are now going for even less, 25% in some cases.

But these low prices will come back to bite you: we found both models expensive to run, due to poor water efficiency.

EOFY is just the latest chance for these washers to prove themselves deserving of the title cheap and nasty. They were less gentle on the test fabrics we used in our recent washing machines review than other models.

Mediocre mattresses

Don’t get lulled by the 50% off EOFY sale from mattress retailer Snooze: the Sealy Posturepedic Crown Jewels Reims Flex is among those getting the half-price treatment, but you’ll probably be able to find a better mattress for even less.

This Sealy came in towards the bottom of our latest mattress review, getting an overall rating of just 67% from our experts.

The Slumberland Soho is also enjoying an EOFY discount at Snooze, but this might be another deal worth sleeping on. We found this mattress relatively uncomfortable and it had the lowest stabilisation score of the almost 50 products we tested.

Testing tech

EOFY is synonymous with home office appliances, but here too lie dangers to your dollar.

The Acer Aspire Go 15 laptop is currently $100 cheaper than usual at Harvey Norman, thanks to the retailer’s half-yearly clearance sale. But it’s worth noting this model scored relatively poorly in our latest laptop review.Ěý

Despite some good points, it could become a source of frustration in your home office, due to poor audio quality and having a keyboard that can’t be backlit for easy use in the dark.

A stick vac that sucks

You want your stick vacuum cleaner to suck, but not in this way.

During testing, our experts noticed the Black & Decker PowerSeries+ BHFEA515J was prone to leaking some of the dirt it had just sucked up. Hardly surprising, then, that it did a poor job of several cleaning tasks.

Our testers also gave it low marks for not having a battery you could swap out and replace.

These factors landed it towards the bottom of our latest stick vac review, but you wouldn’t know that looking at the product on Amazon.

There, it’s being given “Amazon’s Choice” status and a 7% discount as part of the company’s mid-year sale. This sucker might be Amazon’s choice, but it definitely wouldn’t be ours.

EOFY deals worth considering

Only ĚÇĐÄVlog members can access the following information on top-performing products featuring in this year’s EOFY sales.Ěý

If you’re not yet a member, join ĚÇĐÄVlog to get instant access to all our expert, independent reviews or log in to unlock this article.

These are some of the best prices we’ve seen so far on products we recommend in the EOFY sales.

The post Best and worst deals of the 2026 EOFY sales appeared first on ĚÇĐÄVlog.

Now, for the first time, large corporations in Australia will be subject to a mandatory scheme for reporting the risks their operations pose to the environment and the risks the changing climate poses to their businesses.

While many companies have made sustainability statements public to investors and consumers for several years, what sets the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standard apart is that it is compulsory for all large corporations. 

Reports must be delivered to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and published publicly this financial year (2025–26) for companies that meet two of three criteria; they have over $500 million annual revenue, hold $1 billion or more in assets, or have 500 or more employees. Those thresholds will drop as the scheme expands to capture more companies in future years.  

“What mandatory climate disclosure does is force climate risk into the boardroom, for every company captured by the reporting standards,” says Gemma Yeates, investor engagement lead at the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR).    

But just how effective will this new scheme be for driving positive environmental change, stopping greenwashing and holding businesses accountable for their emissions and impact on the climate? 

Motivations behind the scheme

Australia’s new reporting regime has been designed to mirror the International Financial Reporting Standards sustainability reporting standard S2, and aims to provide consistency across the Australian market. Previously, companies in Australia used different reporting standards from one another making comparisons difficult. The reporting also didn’t always line up with international standards, creating further complications for international investors.

Associate Professor Nga Pham, a director at the Monash Centre for Financial Studies, says the reporting standard ASIC has selected is “quite comprehensive” for measuring climate risk. 

“There is a link between disclosures and economic incentives leading to a change in behaviour,” she says. “Investors are going to reward companies that understand climate risk and are taking necessary measures to mitigate the risk in a long-term sustainable business strategy.” 

She adds, however, that the standard is less useful for measuring other sustainability or social issues such as deforestation and environmental destruction. 

Will van de Pol, CEO of environmental activist not-for-profit Market Forces, which focuses on investment and market issues, says the new reporting scheme is “an important step forward”.

“Super funds will be watching closely. It’s absolutely integral that super funds take not only a keen interest, but take action off the back of these climate risk disclosures,” he says. 

“Super funds have a duty to manage financial risks on behalf of their members and ensuring that members’ money is not propping up the expansion of the fossil fuel industry – which poses a major financial risk to those members’ retirement savings – is necessary in order to comply with their duties to members.” 

Importance of disclosures that work

Co-CEO of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility Brynn O’Brien says timely, accurate disclosures are an integral part of our financial system and are incredibly relevant to all investment decision making.

“People rely on company disclosures to make decisions, it’s really important for retail investors, for consumers and to the market broadly. We want to be a country that has good investment standards and this is a part of market integrity,” she says. 

“Investors are still concerned about climate change and are seeing the moment as an opportunity to accelerate decarbonisation in the Asia-Pacific region. The concern about climate change isn’t going away, even in the face of other global crises.” 

Van de Pol agrees and says a working disclosure regime is fundamental to the economy.  

“What this really is about is companies making decisions that will either make or break our chances of having a stable global warming outcome, that provides long-term stable investment returns – obviously it applies to all of us and is of great interest to an increasing number of people,” he says.

“What is most important with all of this disclosure is that it’s not just more words and more numbers being pumped out into the market, but that those disclosures are demonstrating that companies are properly understanding and mitigating the financial risks of climate change, and where they’re not, investors have enough information to make the call to move their capital elsewhere,” van de Pol says. 

“Most importantly it should drive companies into alignment with global climate goals like the goals of the Paris Agreement.” 

Limited utility for ‘mum and dad’ investors

While there is hope that these changes may help to motivate companies to do better, there are concerns that the environmental statements will be of limited value to non-professional investors (“retail investors”), or everyday consumers. 

“These financial disclosures are very sophisticated. Not much of the information that is being provided or the format of that information would be very relevant to the consumer. So it has more relevance to investors than consumers,” Pham, from Monash University, says. 

“I do think that it is important to have all of these categories of investors in mind. Retail investors would have less tools and fewer capabilities to actually analyse and understand all of these climate disclosures compared to institutional investors because they are more well-versed in it,” she adds. 

Van de Pol says while the scheme is geared towards industry investors, climate disclosure information, when properly presented in non-jargonistic and simple terms, is important to retail investors and shareholders trading on publicly listed companies as well. 

Auditing, evidence and enforcement

Pham says that in years one to three of the new scheme, the assurance and auditing elements of reporting requirements are limited, with scope for them to be scaled up in future years. 

ĚÇĐÄVlog understands ASIC plans to take a light-touch enforcement approach to the reporting regime in the early years, giving companies time to get used to the new compliance scheme. Strong enforcement action of the reporting standards is not anticipated any time soon.

In May, the regulator released some preliminary observations on the statements of some 259 companies who had lodged by the end of last year. 

“In general, we have seen an increase in the quantity and quality of climate-related financial information in the market compared to previous voluntary climate-related disclosures. Standardised requirements are driving more consistency and comparability,” ASIC says. 

Share your thoughts: Help us understand how helpful these statements are

Over the next several months we want to track these sustainability statements as they come out and engage a wide audience of readers in a project to better understand how they could serve you. 

We want to know how useful the disclosure regime really is and how readable the statements are, by surveying thousands of everyday consumers. We want to know what a different system actually designed for decision making at the check-out could look like.

What do you want, expect and demand from big companies when it comes to climate disclosures in 2026? What skills, data and information do you need to spot greenwashing and will it impact how you choose to spend or invest your money? 

We want you to come along on a journey with us where your answers, thoughts and feedback will shape the direction of a series of articles and investigations as we grapple with these big questions and more. 

Sign up to the or head to .

The post Will these new laws clean up corporate greenwashing? appeared first on ĚÇĐÄVlog.

At ĚÇĐÄVlog, we’re the last people to endorse frenzied sale shopping, but it’s true that the end of the financial year (EOFY) can be a good opportunity to grab a bargain.

Helpfully timed to break up the months between the Boxing Day sales and the Black Friday discount block in November, this run of bargains in the middle of the calendar year can serve up big deals on a broad range of items, not all of them work-related.

This guide breaks down what these sales are, when they start and end, how you can get a bargain and what you should avoid.

On this page:

• What are the EOFY sales?
• Who has deals?
• When do the sales start and end?
• Where can you find a bargain?
• Are the EOFY sales worth it?
• Your consumer rights during the sales
• What to avoid at EOFY

The EOFY sales are a recurring round of discounts leading up to the end of Australia’s financial year on 30 June. They regularly attract billions in consumer spending.

Sales happen at this time because many retailers want to improve their financial position by the end of the fiscal year and clear out old stock to make space on the shop floor for new items.

This need to shift older products is why you’ll see some retailer deals at this time of year advertised as “stocktake” or “clearance” sales.

However they’re branded, these events also come at a time when many of us are thinking about which of the year’s purchases we’ll be able to claim back on tax, as we turn our minds to lodging our tax returns.

Recognising this, many retailers take the opportunity to present us with deals on products that could be a last minute work-related, claimable purchase – such as laptops, smartphones or printers – to lessen our levies or even help us get a tax refund.

That’s why you’ll often see a lot of financial jargon, promises to help “smash” your taxes and invitations to “claim everything you can” mixed in with sales promotions from retailers at this time.

But just because a retailer says you can claim a purchase doesn’t always mean you actually can. What we’re able to deduct from tax varies from person to person, so consider your personal circumstances before buying something you plan to claim.

Who has deals?

This focus on pushing goods that you can claim as a tax deduction means you’ll often see deals on tech and appliances at EOFY.

The 2026 sales kicked off this month with deals from tech retailers like Bing Lee, Officeworks, Vodafone and Kogan, along with discounts from manufacturer brands like Lenovo and HP.

But it’s not just about the home office – you can also look forward to deals from big names in clothing, toys, furniture and homewares – think David Jones, Myer, Koala, Appliances Online and Amazon.

So far, this year’s discounts have averaged 5–50% off, but it’s still early days.Ěý

As more retailers join the fray, we tend to see EOFY discounts average 20–50% on selected items (not all stock), while some reductions reach as high as almost 90%.

When do the sales start and end?

EOFY officially falls at the end of June, but many brands start their sales in the weeks (or even a whole month) beforehand.

This year has been no exception, with several retailers dropping EOFY deals in the first two weeks of May.

But most major vendors are holding back and haven’t started their sales yet – expect most to unveil their EOFY, clearance or mid-year deals later this month or in early to mid-June.

Once they’re here, these EOFY offers can last anywhere from a few days to weeks, depending on the retailer.

Sales by major brands will often last for up to a month, but are rarely truly site- or store-wide, despite sometimes promising to be.

Big businesses can chop and change which products they’re actually discounting during a long sales period like EOFY – your favourite product discounted one day may return to full price the next, or vice versa.

In previous years, we’ve seen retailers extend their sales beyond their originally advertised end dates by up to eight days, ensuring deals last into early July.

So with start and end dates and discounts not set in stone, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your favourite retailers by following them on social media or signing up to their email newsletters to see what’s being discounted and when.

Even if they haven’t started yet, many outlets already have webpages set up ready to share their EOFY offers, so bookmark these and start checking them from now throughout June for extra information.

Where can you find a bargain?

EOFY deals are available both online and at physical stores, although some may be online-only.

So if you spot a bargain, check where it’s available and if there are any other conditions before heading off in pursuit of a purchase.

Some outlets also provide price matching, so consider asking about this if you see another shop selling the product you want for cheaper.

Are the EOFY sales worth it?

Even though you can find significant discounts (up to almost 90% in some instances) on popular items during the EOFY sales, this run of bargains isn’t the be-all and end-all and some discounts may not be as good as they seem.

We often see EOFY deals on products our testers have found to be poor performers (as well as decent offers on products they do recommend) and the ACCC has previously accused retailers of misleading consumers by over-promising how big their sales are.

Even when deals are legitimate, we’re seeing more and more sales periods crop up throughout the year and some of these come with discounts just as good as those on offer during EOFY sales.

On top of recent additions to the established sales calendar, such as Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday, individual retailers are also having their own flash sales on an increasingly regular basis.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has picked up on this trend, observing “weaker than usual” spending during previous EOFY seasons due to there being more and more sales in the lead up to this traditional sales block.

In other words, in a lot of cases, you don’t have to wait until June to get a good deal, so it pays to follow your favourite brands on social media to catch offers as they come up.

Your consumer rights during the sales

Australian Consumer Law (ACL) gives you certain rights when you buy a good or service from a business selling in Australia, whether it be a physical store or online.

Companies can’t take away these rights with anything they do or say, even during sale periods.

Under the law, retailers must provide a remedy (refund, replacement or repair) for a faulty product, but they’re not obliged to give you a refund or exchange if you just change your mind or find that something doesn’t fit.

Find out more about what you’re entitled to with our guide to using your consumer guarantees.

What to avoid at EOFY

Dud products

There’s no point saving big bucks on a product if it’s a poor performer and as mentioned above, we see plenty of duds mixed in with EOFY bargain stock.

Whether you’re buying a TV, headphones, a smart speaker or a home appliance, check ĚÇĐÄVlog reviews and sign up to our regular rundowns of products to avoid to ensure you’re getting a good deal.

Dangerous items

If you’re browsing this year’s EOFY sales for kids’ toys, it can be hard to resist light-up or singing novelties going for bargain prices.

Before you buy, it’s worth remembering many of these contain small button batteries which have proven fatal in cases where children have been able to extract and swallow them.

Luckily, Australia now has rules (that ĚÇĐÄVlog helped to bring in), designed to make these batteries harder to access. But unfortunately we still often see toys being recalled for failing to follow these safety standards.

Therefore, we recommend not buying any children’s toys, baby safety items or electronics from cheap overseas websites – these products are the least likely to meet Australian safety standards – and checking to make sure what you’re purchasing isn’t currently subject to a recall.

E-scooters, e-bikes, hoverboards and other e-rideables powered by lithium-ion batteries will also feature in this year’s sales. These products have caused fires in the past when users settled for cheap batteries or chargers and left them plugged in unattended.

Only buying e-rideables, batteries or chargers from reputable Australian businesses (and not from overseas via the internet) is a good way to stay safe. 

Charging these products outside your home, away from beds, sofas or carpets, and only during times when you can keep an eye on them (not overnight) is another smart strategy.

Extended warranties

Extended warranties are extra guarantees about the lifespan of a product that retailers commonly offer on expensive items.

Sometimes also called “protection” or “product care” plans, these add-ons come at a cost, but most of them aren’t worth it.

This is because they often carry the same or weaker protections as your existing (and free) ACL rights, which decree that expensive products should last a reasonable amount of time, such as a few years.

If staff are trying to upsell you to one of these plans, ask what rights it will give you beyond the ACL.

Scams

We often see scammers trying to siphon off consumer spending during the sales with dodgy websites designed to steal money and information from unsuspecting shoppers.

To make matters worse, we’ve previously spotted social media companies and search engines allowing ads for these sites on their platforms.

Incoming regulations requiring tech companies and other big businesses to prevent, detect and disrupt scams will hopefully reduce the chance of this occurring again, but it’s still worthwhile getting familiar with the common shopping cons scammers may deploy this year.

Learn how to spot nefarious copies of well-known retailer websites with our guide to spotting a scam shopping site and get up to date with a recent trend of scammers trying to pass themselves off as small local boutiques.

While you’re shopping, you may also find yourself the target of other scams commonly circulating around EOFY.

For example, tax scams often peak around this time of year, so you might receive messages claiming to come from the Australian Tax Office or other government agencies trying to get you to hand over money or information. Learn how to spot these phishing attempts with our guide to the most common tax scams.

The post EOFY sales 2026: Everything you need to know appeared first on ĚÇĐÄVlog.

Justice Michael O’Bryan upheld allegations from consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), that Coles hiked prices on various goods for short periods before dropping them “Down Down” and claiming they’d been discounted. Consumers began to question it – flipping tags to find some shelf prices that were the same or lower than the new discounted prices. But the issues ran deeper.

Choice previously caught Coles hiking the price of a product it claimed was “locked” well before the retailer said it would. In December 2023, we complained to the ACCC, leading to Coles apologising and agreeing to refund customers who bought 20 “prices locked” products that it had quietly unlocked. The response to the ACCC’s probe into its “Down Down” promotions was less congenial.

In the Federal Court decision, the judge ruled that 13 out of 14 examples of Coles’ “Down Down” promotions misled consumers and that the discounts were not genuine. The goods needed to be sold for 12 weeks at the higher price before the discount could be considered genuine. Most of the products were advertised at the higher price for just four weeks. As a result, he found Coles had misled customers because those products weren’t sold at the previous “was” price for reasonable periods of time.

This outcome is good news for consumers and should lead to more transparent, fairer pricing practices in the future. It probably validates how many consumers felt. It may also make endless price increases less palatable and have a downward impact on price – alongside the impending commencement of the excessive pricing regime that Coles and Woolworths will have to comply with. But the judgment exposed a glaring potential loophole.

The Nature’s Gift dog food “Down Down” promotion the ACCC provided as evidence was found to not be misleading as the tag didn’t include a “was” price, despite having only been sold at a higher price for one week. Are we about to see “was” prices disappear from shelves and similar conduct continue? It’s clear that this issue doesn’t necessarily end here.

The new unfair trading prohibition before parliament may well address this problem in relation to omitting material information in a way that manipulates a consumer’s decision-making, or unreasonably distorts the environment in which they make a decision. But that will need to be tested, and the new prohibition isn’t expected to come into force until halfway through 2027.

The federal government accepted all the recommendations of the ACCC supermarkets inquiry. This included introducing minimum information requirements for price displays and discount promotions. That could well require supermarkets to display the “was” price for all discount promotions going forward, and this judgment makes these reforms even more urgent to protect consumers.

Although the facts of the ACCC’s case against Woolworths are similar, they’re not exactly the same, but this judgment will no doubt have triggered some tense meetings today as they await their fate.

Since consumers wised up to the supermarkets’ tactics, trust has plummeted. You have to wonder if the hit to trust in the brand was worth it, but in a country of highly concentrated markets, companies may not concentrate on that question so closely.

This and has been republished with permission.

Get the inside story on our investigations into consumer rip-offs and bad business practices.

Sign up

Read our privacy policy

The post Coles has been caught red-handed. But don’t discount this pricing loophole appeared first on ĚÇĐÄVlog.