One sleep to 30 June. The end-of-financial-year window closes at midnight tomorrow, and the macro picture landing on the Australian household this morning is awkwardly split. Headline inflation eased to 4.0 per cent for the year to May, helped by a temporary halving of the fuel excise. But the Reserve Bank’s preferred underlying read, trimmed mean inflation, climbed in the wrong direction to 3.6 per cent (up from 3.4 per cent in April). The RBA held the cash rate at 4.35 per cent in June, but reintroduced explicit language about the possibility of further hikes. The Australian Retail Council is forecasting EOFY 2026 spending growth at just 1.9 per cent, well below the 4.0 per cent inflation print. Retailers chasing soft demand are running their sharpest cuts of the cycle in the last 24 hours. The last EOFY deduction sleep lands tonight.
Headline Inflation Eased To 4.0 Per Cent, But The RBA’s Preferred Measure Worsened
The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the May 2026 Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator on Wednesday 25 June. Headline CPI rose 4.0 per cent over the 12 months to May, down from 4.2 per cent in April. The easing was largely driven by a temporary halving of the fuel excise: automotive fuel prices fell 11.9 per cent in May after a 7.0 per cent drop in April (ABS Consumer Price Index, Australia, May 2026). The good news stops at the headline. Trimmed mean inflation, which strips out volatile items like fuel and is the gauge the Reserve Bank watches most closely, rose to 3.6 per cent year on year, up from 3.4 per cent in April. Housing costs were up 6.0 per cent, food and non-alcoholic beverages up 3.3 per cent, transport up 3.3 per cent.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers, quoted in Jonathan Barrett’s piece in The Guardian, said the figures were “significantly better than what the market anticipated”, while acknowledging that “inflationary pressures persist in our economy”. For Australian shoppers the read is direct. The bills the household cannot avoid (rent and mortgage, groceries, energy and getting to work) are still rising materially faster than wages. The 4.0 per cent headline is genuine relief on the petrol bowser, but the 3.6 per cent core reading means real spending power on discretionary goods is still under pressure. The EOFY clearance shelves are landing into a household balance sheet that is increasingly choosey.
Household Spending Up 1.3 Per Cent, Clothing And Footwear Rising On Early EOFY Markdowns
The ABS Monthly Household Spending Indicator for May, also released on 25 June, showed household spending rose 1.3 per cent month on month and 5.5 per cent year on year in seasonally adjusted terms (ABS Household Spending, May 2026). The trend measure rose 0.3 per cent. Inside the print, the ABS specifically flagged that “clothing and footwear spending rose in May following an April fall, driven by discounting across mid-season clearance, stocktake and early end-of-financial year sales events offered by retailers”. The retailer was effectively borrowing the customer back with the markdown, and the household was effectively letting itself be borrowed.
For the shopper this last EOFY morning the implication is targeted. The category where the ABS specifically named EOFY discounting as the demand driver (clothing and footwear) is exactly the category where the deepest verified cuts in our Top 5 sweep landed today. Spendless Shoes has women’s lines at 75 per cent off with item-level verification. The cohort the markdown is aimed at is the cohort that has already proven it is buying. The final 24 hours of markdowns are the retailer’s last lever before stock has to be cleared at any cost.
RBA Held At 4.35 Per Cent, But August Move Back On The Table
The Reserve Bank kept the cash rate unchanged at 4.35 per cent at its 16 June meeting, the fourth consecutive month on hold (Westpac IQ news, 22 June 2026). What stood out was the tone. The post-meeting statement reintroduced an explicit reference to the possibility of lifting rates again if the data stays firm. Westpac’s base case is that the next move could be a hike, with August live if inflation prints do not cool further. ANZ economist Sophia Angala, writing in the ANZ Institutional “Watch” video note (26 June 2026), said household consumption is expected to lift just 1.1 per cent this year, “less than half the pace of growth that it saw for 2025, where it lifted 2.5 per cent”.
The next RBA decision lands on 11 August. For the household with a mortgage the read is the toughest of the cycle: the rate-hold relief was brief, and the trimmed mean lift back to 3.6 per cent puts another 25 basis point hike materially on the table. For the EOFY shopper that translates to discipline. The Australian Retail Council is forecasting EOFY 2026 spending growth at just 1.9 per cent across the season (well below the 4.0 per cent inflation print), and the cohort with mortgage cash-flow pressure is the one the retailer must convert in the final 24 hours. The retailer’s last lever is the markdown signage. Tonight is the final sleep.
EOFY Final 24 Hours: The Deduction Window Closes Tuesday Midnight
Tuesday 30 June is the last day of the 2025 to 2026 financial year. For Australian shoppers, anything purchased today or tomorrow that qualifies as a work-related expense can be claimed in the 2026 tax return lodged from 1 July, while anything bought after midnight Tuesday rolls into the next financial year and waits another 12 months for the deduction. The federal government is also rolling out the new $1,000 instant tax deduction (no receipts required) which benefits around 6.2 million workers, alongside the income tax rate cut from 16 per cent to 15 per cent for earnings between $18,201 and $45,000 (delivering up to $268 back per taxpayer). The combination means the next 36 hours carry unusually high return-on-decision for genuine work purchases: a laptop bag, a desk chair, a pair of work shoes, headphones, a tablet, work-from-home consumables. The same dollar spent next week loses the deduction lever entirely.
Five Fresh Australian Stores For The Final EOFY Sleep
Five stores. Five categories. The deepest headline discounts surfaced from a sweep of every retailer on It’s On Sale, audited at dawn.
Discount
LightspotLightingUp to 89 per cent off Lightspot’s clearance specials: pendants, chandeliers, downlights, table and floor lamps, outdoor wall lights and LED strip from the South Australian-owned online lighting specialist, with verified item-level markdowns like the Theatre Pendant at $99 down from $884.95 and the Beck 20 Pendant at $19 down from $149.95, free shipping over $200 nationwide.89%OFF2
KmartHomewaresUp to 88 per cent off Kmart’s clearance category: homewares, kitchen, storage, kids apparel, pet, beauty and lighting from the Australian-owned mass merchant, with stand-out item-level cuts like Classic Loafers at $3 (was $25) and Pet Treat Carob Chip Biscuits at $1 (was $6), click and collect from 320 stores nationwide.88%OFF3
AlfaberryBaby SuppliesUp to 81 per cent off Alfaberry’s on-sale collection: baby and kids dresses, separates, sleepwear and accessories from the Sydney-designed Australian-owned children’s label, with verified item-level cuts like the Lead Singer Maxi Velvet Dress at $15 (was $79.95), free shipping over $75 and same-day Sydney dispatch on orders before noon.81%OFF4
Spendless ShoesFootwearUp to 75 per cent off Spendless Shoes’ women’s sale: heels, flats, boots, sneakers, wedges and workwear from the Adelaide-founded Australian-owned shoe chain, with verified item-level cuts like the WREN by Wildfire at $10 down from $40, free Australian shipping over $60 and click and collect from 200 plus stores nationwide.75%OFF5
MacpacOutdoorUp to 50 per cent off Macpac’s clearance: tents, sleeping bags, packs, jackets, fleeces, base layers and hiking pants from the Australian-owned outdoor brand, with verified up to 50 per cent off across leading outdoor gear ranges, free shipping over $150 and 100 day returns plus the lifetime gear repair promise.50%OFF% discounts shown are indicative across each store’s sale range. Individual product savings vary.
Other Deals Worth A Look
Beyond the Top 5, six other Australian-owned stores cleared the 60 per cent EOFY threshold this morning and are worth a final scan before midnight tomorrow. Cotton On is at up to 50 per cent off the women’s sale from the Geelong-headquartered Australian-owned fashion group. Bonds is at up to 65 per cent off underwear, sleepwear and basics from the iconic Australian-owned label. Big W is at up to 55 per cent off the electronics clearance from the Australian-owned discount department store. Lightspot also has the Beck 20 Pendant marked 87 per cent off as a deep secondary pick beyond rank 1. Spendless Shoes rounds out the women’s footwear edge at 75 per cent. None are featured in the Top 5 today but each clears the 50 per cent threshold and runs through Tuesday midnight.
Our Take
The Monday read going into the final EOFY sleep is more nuanced than the headline 4.0 per cent CPI suggests. The Reserve Bank’s preferred core gauge moved the wrong way (3.6 per cent), the August hike is back on the table, and the Australian Retail Council is forecasting an EOFY season that grows 1.9 per cent against an inflation print of 4.0 per cent. That gap matters. The retailer who must clear EOFY stock against soft demand is running today’s sharpest markdowns of the cycle. The shopper with mortgage cash-flow pressure is being targeted with the deepest signage. The household balance sheet has 24 hours to convert genuine work-related purchases into deductible expenses before the next financial year locks them out. The discipline is choosing items that compound (a reliable pair of work shoes worn five times a week, a desk chair used for eight hours a day, a winter coat that lasts five seasons) rather than items that depreciate the moment they leave the warehouse.
The shoppable side of It’s On Sale is built exactly for this read. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned and locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. Our AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “work shoes size 8” or “desk chair under 300”). You will never find Temu, Shein, AliExpress or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand here. One sleep until the 30 June EOFY cutoff. Browse Today’s Sales before the markdown window closes.