Monday morning, and two clocks are ticking against shoppers before lunch. The Coles gift card window shuts at 8am today, and the Woolworths TCN stack closes at close of trade. Both are your last chance this week to buy Term 3 holiday kit at a discount before the tills reset. Above that, the RBA rate rise probability has climbed to 66.5% for the 29 September sitting, and David Jones has opened its Spring Flower Show at Elizabeth Street. Here is the shopper’s read for Monday 14 September.
Rate Rise Odds Climb Ahead of the RBA
Per the RBA Rate Watch model updated 11 September, the market is pricing a 66.5% chance of a cash rate rise at the 29 September sitting, versus a 33.3% chance of a hold and a rounding error 0.14% chance of a cut. The current cash rate is 4.35%, unchanged since 12 August. NAB is the loudest of the majors calling a September move: per the Aussie Home Loans wrap of expert predictions updated 8 September, NAB pencils a 25 basis point rise to 4.60% in September. ANZ, CommBank and Westpac all expect a hike no later than November.
What this means for a shopper this fortnight: variable rate credit products (personal loans, buy now pay later term arrangements, retail store cards) reprice within two to four weeks of an RBA move. If you have a big ticket EOFY style purchase queued for October or November on interest free finance, get the written quote and the offer accepted this week. If you were thinking of consolidating a store card balance to a low rate personal loan, the sensible read is that pricing available today is likely as good as it gets for the balance of the year.
Gift Card Windows: Coles Shuts at 8am, Woolworths Closes Tonight
Per Brandon Loo’s Point Hacks weekly wrap, Coles has 10% off Uber, Uber Eats, DoorDash, Rebel, BCF, Supercheap Auto and the Super Retail Group Super Card (valid at Supercheap Auto, BCF, Rebel and Macpac). Offer is in store only. Limit 5 cards per customer. Windows: 9 September to 15 September, and most Coles supermarkets close the offer at 8am Monday morning. If you are reading this at breakfast, the store around the corner is your only shot before the reset.
Woolworths is running 20x Everyday Rewards points per dollar spent on Google Play, TCN Kids, TCN Shop, TCN Deluxe, TCN Pamper and TCN Cinema gift cards, all in store, same 9 to 15 September window, closing at end of trade tonight. Per the GCDB gift card weekly, 20x points equals about 10 Qantas Points per dollar via the Everyday Rewards to Qantas transfer, so $500 across TCN Cinema translates to roughly 5,000 Qantas Points on top of the standard face value spend.
Two Monday plays worth a run to the shops. The Super Retail Group Super Card at Coles is the strongest stack for camping and outdoor kit heading into the QLD and VIC Term 3 holidays that start Saturday. TCN Pamper at Woolworths works at Mecca, Sephora, Hairhouse, salon appointments and nail bars, and it is the cheapest way to buy Christmas presents 100 days out.
David Jones Opens Its Spring Flower Show
The David Jones Spring Flower Show runs 10 to 20 September at the Elizabeth Street Sydney flagship, the retailer’s annual free installation and this year part of its 187 year Sydney celebration. It coincides with a Mid Season Sale live at davidjones.com/sale: up to 50% off selected women’s fashion from Bec + Bridge, Aje and Bassike, 30% off Calvin Klein, M&S and Spanx lingerie, and up to 20% off across accessories and homewares. Per Getprice’s David Jones sales tracker updated 9 September, the Mid Season Sale is one of the deeper 2026 windows this side of the November Toyshop launch.
What this means for Sydney shoppers this week: free foot traffic to a real store, with a genuine markdown offer paired against it. For a shopper anywhere else, the online Mid Season Sale reads best across the higher end women’s fashion labels where markdowns exceed the January and June clearance depth.
ACCC Pushes for Stronger Marketplace Safety Rules
Per the ACCC media release published 1 September, the regulator is calling for a general safety provision and stronger reform of Australia’s product safety framework, with online marketplaces flagged as a particular concern. ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said current gaps let unsafe goods reach Australian consumers through digital channels without the same accountability that applies to physical retailers. Amazon Australia, eBay Australia, Fruugo, Temu and Gumtree are all named participants of the strengthened Australian Product Safety Pledge, the voluntary framework the ACCC wants replaced with an enforceable rule.
Per the follow up Cass-Gottlieb speech delivered 3 September, the regulator has increased its enforcement focus on online marketplace product safety and expects the current voluntary Pledge to fall short as consumers keep shifting spend to those platforms. Shopper practical read: before you buy anything electrical, kids toy, cot, pram, magnet product, small appliance or button battery product from any marketplace listing (Amazon Commercial Services included), check the product safety recalls register at productsafety.gov.au. It is free to search, and it catches listings the marketplaces still have live.
Term 3 Holidays: QLD and VIC Break Starts Saturday
Per Education Queensland’s term calendar, Queensland state schools finish Term 3 on Friday 18 September, with holidays running Saturday 20 September to Sunday 5 October. Victoria matches, per the Victorian Government schools calendar: Term 3 ends Friday 18 September, holidays run Monday 21 September to Friday 3 October. New South Wales trails a week, per the NSW school holidays calendar: Eastern Division holidays run Monday 28 September to Friday 9 October.
Read for a shopper this week: the last five weekdays of full price traffic across kids clothing, footwear, camping, activewear, sunscreen and travel snacks. Buy the Term 3 kit under this morning’s Coles gift card stack or tonight’s Woolworths TCN stack, not at full price during the break itself. Category to prioritise from today’s Top 5 below: footwear (Novo, second place at 62% off), homewares (Dusk at 60% off, top up on candles and gifts before the school holiday grandparent visits).
Top 5 Deals of the Day
Five stores. Five categories. The deepest headline discounts surfaced from a Monday morning sweep of every retailer live on It’s On Sale.
Costume BoxToday’s Top DiscountCostumes75%OFF2
NovoShoes62%OFF3
DuskHomewares60%OFF4
brasNthingsIntimates50%OFF5
David JonesFashion50%OFF% discounts shown are indicative across each store’s sale range. Individual product savings vary.
Other Deals Worth a Look
- Grahams Jewellers: up to 50% off across the jewellery range. Fine gift buying window ahead of Fathers Day return runs and Christmas 100 day mark.
- David Jones Beauty: Mid Season Sale up to 50% off runs the same window as fashion. Premium fragrance and skincare carried across, and staff on the ground floor at Elizabeth Street during the Flower Show.
- Rebel Sport: activewear clearance ahead of Term 3 holidays. Pair with the Super Retail Group Super Card at Coles this morning to stack 10% off the gift card against the sale price.
- BCF: camping, fishing and outdoor sale live. Same Super Card stack applies, and this is the week to lock in Term 3 camp kit before spring school holiday traffic hits.
What to Watch This Week
Coles Week 37 gift card offer closes this morning at 8am. Woolworths Everyday Rewards TCN gift card offer closes end of trade tonight (15 September). The ABS Labour Force release for August 2026 lands Thursday 18 September at 11.30am AEST, and it is the last major labour market data point before the RBA sitting. Term 3 school holidays start Saturday 20 September across QLD and VIC. The RBA cash rate decision lands Tuesday 29 September at 2.30pm AEST, with a 66.5% market implied probability of a rise per the Rate Watch model. The August monthly CPI print from the ABS Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator follows Wednesday 30 September at 11.30am AEST.