Neil Fairhead

CEO, It’s On Sale

inConnect

Saturday morning and the biggest supermarket story in a fortnight is what did not happen. Coles has walked away from its rumoured $4 billion swoop on Greencross, the private-equity-owned parent of Petbarn, City Farmers and Greencross Vets, ending months of investor speculation about the country’s second-largest supermarket muscling into premium pet retail. The market immediately cheered the discipline: Coles shares jumped 4 per cent on Thursday. For pet owners the news is quieter: nothing changes at the Petbarn checkout, Repeat Delivery still ships, and the Vet clinics stay independent. Elsewhere in the week that was, CommBank data confirms EOFY 2026 was a genuine fizzer for retail, the July fuel excise unwind has already lifted inflation expectations to a three-month high, Woolworths brings back Disney OOSHIES with a recycling twist and a BIG W debut, and Saturday’s Top 5 opens with Glassons at up to 75 per cent off across the women’s range.

Coles Walks Away From The $4 Billion Petbarn Deal

Coles Group announced on Thursday 17 July 2026 that it has formally ended discussions with private equity owner TPG Capital over a potential acquisition of Greencross, the parent company behind Petbarn, City Farmers and the Greencross Vets clinic network. The deal, reportedly valued at up to $4 billion, would have been the largest supermarket-adjacent acquisition since Wesfarmers bought API in 2022 and would have inserted Coles directly into a fast-growing $12 billion Australian pet-care category currently split between Petbarn, Woolworths-owned Petstock and thousands of independent retailers (Tim Beveridge, Rask Media, 17 July 2026). The ASX greeted the retreat rather than the deal: Coles shares (ASX:COL) closed 4 per cent higher on Thursday as investors welcomed management’s stated “disciplined approach to acquisitions” and refusal to overpay in a category where synergies with the supermarket core business are more theoretical than obvious.

What it means for pet-owning households: nothing changes at the checkout. Petbarn, City Farmers and Greencross Vets remain under Greencross ownership. The Repeat Delivery auto-ship program keeps rolling, the Friends for Life loyalty scheme still stacks, and the 250-plus Vet clinics stay outside supermarket ownership, which matters if you value independent clinical advice from your vet rather than a supermarket private-label push. Coles will now double down on its own Best Buys pet range and its Bluey merchandise partnership (fresh Bluey pet accessories launched in-store this week), Woolworths keeps the Petstock alliance, and the ACCC avoids what would have been a lengthy competition review at exactly the same time the regulator is fighting Coles on a separate front over the blocked Kalgoorlie supermarket application. The bigger message for shoppers is a rare good-news signal on supermarket restraint: management chose disciplined shareholder returns over empire-building, and Petbarn shoppers keep an independent alternative to the two supermarket giants.

EOFY 2026 Was A Fizzer: June Household Spending Up Just 0.3 Per Cent

The Commonwealth Bank Household Spending Insights Index for June 2026, released Wednesday 16 July 2026, confirms what a lot of retailers already suspected: the end-of-financial-year sales month was a genuine soft launch. Overall household spending rose just 0.3 per cent in June, retail spending eased to 0.2 per cent (down from 0.6 per cent in May), and recreation spending decelerated sharply from 2.3 per cent in May to 0.2 per cent in June (CommBank Newsroom, 16 July 2026). CommBank noted that “for the first six months of 2026, the average monthly increase is sitting at 0.3 per cent, slightly lower than the 0.5 per cent average through 2025”, a clear signal that household budgets remain under pressure a full year after the RBA’s February 2025 rate-cut cycle began. The only categories to post strong monthly gains were Utilities (up 1.4 per cent as government energy rebates fully unwound in the June bill cycle) and Education (up 1.1 per cent on uni-fee timing).

For shoppers who watched the EOFY promotions and felt they were softer than 2025, the CommBank data explains why: retailers were leaner on discounting because footfall was already thinning, and the deep-percentage headlines shifted from EOFY into the mid-July winter runout that is still running this weekend at David Jones, Myer and Cotton On (see Top 5 below). Western Australia bucked the national trend, with local retailers reporting shoppers “prepared to spend with the right bargain” (The West Australian retail coverage, 16 July 2026), a reminder that WA’s resource-linked wages remain a genuine outlier. For household budgets: the June quarter CPI print lands on Wednesday 30 July, the next RBA cash-rate decision is Tuesday 12 August, and the mid-year sales window closes at David Jones and Myer around the first weekend of August. If a winter jacket, doona set or under-100 pair of chinos is still on the list, this weekend and next are the last two clean discount windows before the August spring range reset.

Fuel Excise Unwind Lifts Inflation Expectations To 5.7 Per Cent

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence for the week ending 13 July 2026 rose a slight 0.6 points to 75.3, but the more consequential number in the same release was Inflation Expectations, which jumped 0.3 percentage points to 5.7 per cent, the biggest weekly rise in three months (Roy Morgan, 14 July 2026). Analysts pointed directly at the federal government’s decision to reverse half of the temporary fuel excise cut from 1 July, which added roughly 10 cents per litre back on to petrol prices at the pump, with the second and final excise step-up landing at 11:59pm on Sunday 2 August (full excise resumes Monday 3 August). Separately, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index for July rose 4.1 per cent to 83.9, a six-month high (Westpac IQ, 14 July 2026), driven by falling fuel prices in the survey week (average pump price down to $1.60 per litre as Middle East war shocks unwound). Two indices, two different weeks, two different signals: sentiment ticked up on cheaper fuel, expectations ticked up on the excise unwind.

The practical read for households: the July confidence bounce is masking a genuine cost-of-living squeeze that has three tailwinds waiting in August, being the full return of fuel excise on 3 August, the June quarter CPI print on 30 July that will re-open the RBA rate debate, and the traditional utility-bill lift that always lands in the first quarter of the financial year. ANZ Head of Australian Economics Adelaide Timbrell noted the confidence lift is “welcome but fragile” and warned the July RBA hold at 4.35 per cent leaves the door open for one more cut later in 2026 only if inflation cooperates (ANZ Newsroom, 13 July 2026). For anyone filling the tank this weekend or next: use the low day of the local city price cycle (Monday or Tuesday in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Wednesday in Adelaide), stack a Flybuys or Everyday Rewards 4-cents-per-litre fuel docket where available, and consider a full tank on Saturday 1 August before the excise steps back up.

Disney OOSHIES Back At Woolworths, BIG W And MILKRUN From Wednesday

Woolworths brings back its Disney OOSHIES collectibles from Wednesday 15 July 2026, running until Tuesday 25 August, with a 40-character line-up spanning Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars and, for the first time, expansion to BIG W and MILKRUN alongside Woolworths supermarkets (Woolworths Group release, 6 July 2026). Households earn one OOSHIE per $30 spent in a single shop across Woolworths, BIG W and MILKRUN, with bonus OOSHIEs available on participating Bega, Bonds, Heinz, Kellogg’s, Nescafe, Smith’s and other brands. Each OOSHIE is manufactured from 97 per cent recycled materials this year, and Woolworths is running a national in-store recycling program until 31 October so families can return unwanted OOSHIEs from past collections for material recovery rather than landfill. A Collector Case is available for $10 (or free with a $100 shop) and includes a printed board game plus two exclusive glow-in-the-dark OOSHIEs.

Consumer angle: for a household already spending $200-plus a week on groceries at Woolworths, this is a free reward mechanic that rewards weekly shop consolidation rather than one-off basket splitting. Practical shopper moves: check the participating brands list before your Wednesday shop (bonus OOSHIEs stack on top of the $30 threshold), keep the recycling drop bin address handy if the kids have older OOSHIEs cluttering the toy box, and consider bulking the fortnightly big shop onto one till transaction rather than splitting across two smaller shops (a $180 shop earns six OOSHIEs, whereas two $90 shops earn six as well, but the paper receipts and Everyday Rewards points stack differently). Coles counters with Bluey merchandise across the pet, homewares and stationery aisles this week, and Aldi runs its own Special Buys spring reset next Wednesday. Nothing new here for kids-free households, but for the family segment this is the biggest supermarket loyalty hook of the winter school holidays.

Five Fresh Australian Stores, Audited At Dawn

Five stores. Five categories. All fresh names today, none carried over from the last three days, all headline discounts verified from the live sale pages this morning.

1Today’s Top
DiscountGlassonsWomen's WearUp to 75 per cent off Glassons: dresses, denim, tees, knitwear and coats from the trans-Tasman womenswear brand with New Zealand roots and a strong Australian retail presence, with Afterpay, Zip and free shipping over $80.75%OFF2MyerDepartment StoresUp to 60 per cent off at Myer: menswear, womenswear, homewares, beauty and toys from the Melbourne-headquartered department store, with Myer One rewards points, Afterpay, Zip and click-and-collect at over 55 locations.60%OFF3Australian LeatherUgg BootsUp to 50 per cent off Australian Leather: genuine sheepskin Ugg boots, slippers and moccasins hand-crafted in Thomastown Victoria since 1988, with wide-fit options, Afterpay and free shipping over $200.50%OFF4Cotton OnFashion & BasicsUp to 50 per cent off Cotton On: denim, tees, jumpers, sleepwear and activewear from the Geelong-founded Australian-owned brand, with the Cotton On Foundation, Afterpay, Zip and free shipping over $55.50%OFF5HallensteinsMen's WearUp to 50 per cent off Hallensteins: shirts, chinos, jumpers, jackets and workwear from the trans-Tasman menswear label established in 1873 with Australian free returns, Afterpay and free shipping over $80.50%OFF

% discounts shown are indicative across each store’s sale range. Individual product savings vary.

Other Deals Worth A Look

Beyond the Top 5, a handful of other Australian-owned or locally fulfilled retailers are worth a look on the Saturday of the third full trading week of the new financial year. Healthy Life (today’s Top 6 ticker pick) has up to 50 per cent off vitamins, supplements, pantry staples, sports nutrition and personal-care products from the Woolworths-owned wellness retailer, with Everyday Rewards points, Afterpay and free shipping over $60. Koala has clearance pricing on mattresses, sofas, bunk beds and bedding from the Australian-owned certified B Corp with 120-night trials and free delivery. David Jones keeps its winter runout live across menswear, womenswear, homewares and beauty from the Melbourne and Sydney flagship department store, with free shipping over $100. Temple & Webster has running winter sale prices on lounge, dining, outdoor and rugs from the Australian-listed online furniture specialist, with free returns on most items and click-to-order Australia-wide. JB Hi-Fi continues its This Week’s Hottest Deals across TVs, laptops, headphones and kitchen appliances from the Australian-listed electronics retailer, with in-store price beat and click-and-collect at over 200 locations. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, all backed by the Australian Consumer Law.

Our Take

Two disciplined moves in one week tell a bigger story about where 2026 retail is heading. Coles chose shareholder returns over a $4 billion pet-supply empire, and the ASX rewarded it with a 4 per cent share-price jump inside 24 hours. In a category as fragmented as Australian pet retail, that discipline is worth more to the average shopper than a merger synergy story: Petbarn stays independent, the Greencross Vet network keeps clinical distance from a supermarket private-label push, and the ACCC avoids a lengthy competition review. Meanwhile CommBank data confirms the average household is spending 0.3 per cent more per month than a year ago, well below inflation, well below wage growth, and well below the retailer scenarios written into 2025 budget forecasts. The retail winners of the next 90 days will be the ones who read that number honestly: real Australian discounts, real Australian-owned or locally fulfilled ranges, and no fake-EOFY headline pricing dressed up as a fresh sale.

That is exactly why It’s On Sale exists. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily against the store’s own price history. No trial traps, no hidden fees, no offshore marketplaces dressed up as a local brand. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. The AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “womens winter knitwear under 100” or “mens work shirts half price”). None of it is Temu, Shein, AliExpress, Wish or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand. Browse Today’s Sales on the Saturday of the third full week of the new financial year, and make your money go further with Australian retailers who stand behind the ticket.

It’s On Sale Australia’s home for genuine retail deals. Browse today’s featured stores at itsonsale.com.au.

Neil Fairhead

CEO, It’s On Sale

inConnect

Friday morning and the loyalty-program map has been redrawn twice this week. Coles has scrapped the flat $10 Flybuys redemption cap and rolled out tiered Pay With Points at every supermarket checkout, meaning shoppers with a healthy point balance can now take up to $100 off a single shop instead of ten $10 redemptions across ten trips. Bunnings has launched PowerPass Pro Rewards, its biggest loyalty overhaul since 2011, for tradies and small businesses. Meanwhile the cash acceptance mandate that started on 1 July now carries real teeth (penalties up to $198,000 per breach), only two more weekends of half-strength fuel excise relief remain before the full excise returns on 3 August, and Friday’s Top 5 opens with Elite Supplements and UGG Express both at up to 80 per cent off.

Flybuys Just Got Better: Up to $100 Off in a Single Coles Shop

Coles rolled out a national update to the Flybuys Pay With Points program on Tuesday 14 July 2026, replacing the previous flat $10-off ceiling with a tiered redemption structure that lets in-store shoppers instantly take between $10 and $100 off a single Coles supermarket transaction depending on their points balance (Coles Group media release, 15 July 2026). Under the previous system, once a Flybuys member accumulated 2,000 points (worth $10), they could redeem that in one $10 chunk and only in one $10 chunk. Anyone sitting on 20,000 points had to make ten separate redemptions across ten separate shops. The change locks the point-value math (every 2,000 points is still worth $10) but unlocks six redemption tiers at the register: $10 for 2,000 points, $20 for 4,000 points, $30 for 6,000 points, $50 for 10,000 points, $70 for 14,000 points, and $100 for 20,000 points (International Business Times Australia, 14 July 2026).

Three practical points if you want to use the higher tiers this weekend. First, this is in-store only. If you shop Coles online at coles.com.au, the old flat structure still applies. Second, set your reward preference to \”pay with points\” in the Flybuys app or on the Flybuys website before you head to the supermarket. Without that flag, the checkout will earn points instead of offering to redeem them. Third, the maximum $100 redemption is per transaction not per day and one redemption per Flybuys account per calendar day, so splitting a $200 shop across two trips only helps if you have 40,000 points banked. Coles has also confirmed the same six-tier structure will land at selected Liquorland stores from Wednesday 19 August 2026 in Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, New South Wales, the ACT and selected Western Australian and South Australian stores. Woolworths Everyday Rewards, for reference, still uses the fixed 2,000-point-to-$10 Rewards Dollar model, redeemable at Woolworths, BWS or as an e-gift card, and has not announced a matching move.

Bunnings Launches PowerPass Pro Rewards: Biggest Overhaul Since 2011

Bunnings rolled out PowerPass Pro Rewards on Monday 13 July 2026, its biggest loyalty overhaul since the original PowerPass launched in 2011. The new tiered program is free to join and pitched at tradies, sole traders and small to medium businesses across Australia and New Zealand, and it is the first Bunnings loyalty scheme to combine store cashback, fuel discounts and Qantas Business Rewards points in one wallet (Point Hacks, 13 July 2026). There are six spend tiers running from Member (up to $1,999 a year) through Essential, Plus, Elite, Ultimate and up to Black at $100,000 a year in eligible spend. Every member from the Essential tier upwards earns $100 in Pro Rewards Dollars on their first $2,000 of spend and $50 for every $1,000 after that, redeemable at Bunnings by the primary account holder (Qantas Business Rewards PowerPass Pro Rewards page).

The Qantas points sweetener kicks in at the Elite tier ($25,000 annual spend) with 15,000 Qantas Points paid to a linked Qantas Business Rewards account, rising to 25,000 points at Ultimate ($50,000) and 85,000 points at Black ($100,000), plus a further 85,000 points for every additional $100,000 of qualifying spend within the same membership year, capped at $1 million. Fuel discounts through Shell Card Lite start at 5 cents per litre at Member and step up to 8 cents per litre at Black. Bunnings excludes delivery, installation services, Frame and Truss purchases, off-range purchases and most discounted sales from earning Pro Rewards Dollars, so eligible spend is not the same as total till spend. For any It’s On Sale reader running a small business who already shops Bunnings for materials, the switch is a no-brainer: it is free, and the first $2,000 of annual spend now returns $100. Sign up at trade.bunnings.com.au/powerpass-pro-rewards, and check the ABN on your PowerPass matches the ABN on your Qantas Business Rewards account before your next big order.

Cash Acceptance Mandate Now Enforceable, Up To $198,000 Fines

Australia’s new cash acceptance codes officially came into force on 1 January 2026, but the penalty provisions only switched on from 1 July 2026, and they carry real teeth. Under the codes, grocery retailers, fuel stations, pharmacies and healthcare providers now have a legal obligation to accept cash for in-person purchases of $500 or less during trading hours between 7am and 9pm (ACCC payment methods guidance). Businesses with less than $10 million in annual turnover are exempt from the codes, unless they trade under a big-retailer brand (a franchisee Coles Express, for example, is captured). Penalties for a breach can reach $198,000 per contravention (CHOICE, 6 July 2026). Put simply: if you queue up at Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, IGA, BP, Shell, 7-Eleven, an Ampol staffed site or any major pharmacy chain during trading hours with a $500-or-under bill and cash in your pocket, and the operator refuses to accept it, the operator is now facing a potentially six-figure fine.

The codes carry a narrow but genuine set of carve-outs. On 9 July 2026 the ACCC granted the first two exemptions to motor fuel retailers, both for unstaffed automated sites where there is no human at the till to accept cash: Ampol U-Go received a five-year exemption for 50 sites, and Petro National received a ten-year exemption for four sites (ACCC media release, 9 July 2026). Consumer practical guide: keep a small emergency cash float ($50 to $100 in mixed notes) in the car glovebox for bank-outage days, know your rights the next time a supermarket cashier tries to redirect you to a card-only self-checkout, and if a business does refuse cash on a compliant transaction, report it to the ACCC via accc.gov.au/contact-us. For older shoppers, anyone caught by a card outage, and anyone who prefers cash for budgeting reasons, this is one of the most consumer-friendly regulatory shifts of the year.

Two Weekends Left of Half-Strength Fuel Excise Relief

Australian motorists have two weekends left to make the most of the temporary fuel excise cut before the discount steps down again. From 1 July 2026 the government reduced the excise discount from 32 cents per litre (in effect April to June) to a half-strength 16 cents per litre, and the remaining relief expires at 11:59pm on Sunday 2 August 2026, at which point full excise resumes on Monday 3 August (Lawpath, 1 July 2026). Practical shopper moves for the next fortnight: fill up on the low day of your local city price cycle (usually Monday or Tuesday in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Wednesday in Adelaide), stack a Flybuys or Everyday Rewards 4-cent-per-litre supermarket fuel docket where available, and consider a full tank on Saturday 1 August before the excise steps up. The broader macro picture supports keeping expectations sober: the Melbourne Institute’s July inflation expectations survey printed at 4.7 per cent, a six-month low but still well above the RBA’s 2 to 3 per cent target band (Trading Economics, Australia inflation expectations). Translation: the RBA is unlikely to rush more rate cuts, and the household squeeze on grocery, fuel and utility bills continues into spring.

Five Fresh Australian Stores, Audited at Dawn

Five stores. Five categories. All fresh names today, none carried over from the last three days, all headline discounts verified from the live sale pages this morning.

1Today’s Top
DiscountElite SupplementsSupplementsUp to 80 per cent off Elite Supplements: protein powders, pre-workouts, amino acids and sports nutrition from the Australian-owned specialist, with stores across NSW and Queensland, click-and-collect and 30-day satisfaction guarantee.80%OFF2UGG ExpressUgg BootsUp to 80 per cent off UGG Express: sheepskin boots, slippers and moccasins for men, women and kids from the Australian sheepskin footwear specialist, with Afterpay, Zip and free shipping on orders over $60.80%OFF3BakuBeachwearUp to 70 per cent off Baku: swimwear, resort wear, cover-ups and beach accessories from the Australian-owned swim label designed on the Gold Coast, with size-inclusive ranges and free shipping over $80.70%OFF4MossmanWomen's WearUp to 70 per cent off Mossman: dresses, knitwear, tops and pants from the Australian-owned womenswear label with a modern minimalist aesthetic, with Afterpay, Zip and free returns on full-price orders.70%OFF5ColetteFashion AccessoriesUp to 69 per cent off Colette: handbags, tech accessories, jewellery and travel accessories from the Australian-owned Sydney-based accessories retailer, with stores nationally and click-and-collect at your local shopping centre.69%OFF

% discounts shown are indicative across each store’s sale range. Individual product savings vary.

Other Deals Worth A Look

Beyond the Top 5, a handful of other Australian-owned retailers are worth a look on the Friday of the second full trading week of the new financial year. Academy Brand (today’s Top 6 ticker pick) has up to 60 per cent off tees, shirts, chinos, denim and knitwear from the Australian-founded menswear label with a Bondi flagship, plus Afterpay and free shipping over $99. Koala has clearance pricing on mattresses, sofas, kids furniture and bedding from the Australian-owned certified B Corp with 120-night trials and free shipping. Myer continues up to 60 per cent off across menswear, womenswear and homewares as the Melbourne-headquartered department store rolls its winter runout into the final weekend. JB Hi-Fi has running specials on TVs, laptops, gaming and small kitchen appliances from the Australian-listed electronics retailer, with in-store price beat and click-and-collect at over 200 locations. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, all backed by the Australian Consumer Law.

Our Take

Two loyalty stories in one week point in the same direction: rewards programs are being redesigned to feel bigger, faster and more visible at the checkout. Coles has swapped a $10 ceiling for a $100 ceiling with no change to the underlying point value, and Bunnings has stacked store cashback on top of fuel discounts on top of Qantas points for anyone willing to sign a small business up. Neither program suddenly makes anyone richer. What they do is reward the shopper who actively opts in, sets their preferences, and consolidates spend with retailers who have a real customer-service phone number and a real Australian ABN. That is a fair trade, but it only works if you use it. Check your Flybuys balance before your next big Coles shop. Move your PowerPass account onto Pro Rewards before the next quarterly reset. And keep a $100 cash float in the car in case the pump reader refuses your card on the way home.

That is exactly why It’s On Sale exists. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily against the store’s own price history. No trial traps, no hidden fees, no offshore marketplaces dressed up as a local brand. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. The AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try \”mens winter chinos under 100\” or \”womens beachwear half price\”). None of it is Temu, Shein, AliExpress, Wish or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand. Browse Today’s Sales on the Friday of the second full week of the new financial year, and make your money go further with Australian retailers who stand behind the ticket.

It’s On Sale Australia’s home for genuine retail deals. Browse today’s featured stores at itsonsale.com.au.

Neil Fairhead

CEO, It’s On Sale

inConnect

Thursday morning and the ACCC has landed the first big consumer win of the second full week of the new financial year: Origin Energy will refund more than $270,000 to over 4,500 customers whose “Ongoing Saver” plan sometimes cost them more than the retailer’s cheaper Basic plan. It is the first-ever designated-complaint outcome under the framework CHOICE lodged on 21 May 2025, and refunds average around $60 a customer. Meanwhile Perth-founded activewear label STAX has appointed liquidators leaving customers holding un-honoured gift cards, ASIC has released the first detailed dataset showing $3.66 billion in retail collapses since 2021, petrol has jumped 16 cents per litre since the 30 June excise cut expired, and Thursday’s Top 5 is led by Kick Push Skate at 86 per cent off.

Origin Refunds 4,500 Customers on ‘Saver’ Plan That Was Not

Origin Energy will pay back more than $270,000 to over 4,500 current and former customers on its “Ongoing Saver” electricity plan after an ACCC investigation found the plan sometimes charged more than Origin’s cheaper Basic plan for the same tariff (ACCC media release, 14 July 2026). Refunds average around $60 per customer, and Origin has committed to contact every affected customer directly. Current customers can choose a refund or an automatic bill credit, and former customers will be reached out to for a refund. Origin has also discontinued the Ongoing Saver plan altogether and undertaken not to use “saver” naming for any future plan unless genuine savings are built in for the life of the plan (Canstar consumer summary, 14 July 2026).

ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey put the message to the wider industry in one sentence: “Electricity retailers that claim or suggest savings for consumers on their plans, including in the name of the plan, must ensure that the savings are actually delivered to customers for the life of the plan” (Lawyerly by Cindy Cameronne, 14 July 2026). The action is significant beyond the dollar amount: it is the first outcome of the ACCC’s new designated-complaint framework, triggered by a CHOICE submission lodged on 21 May 2025. CHOICE consumer data advocate Andy Kollmorgen welcomed the result and confirmed CHOICE will continue using the framework, saying “the ACCC has again shown that misleading claims will not fly, and consumers are entitled to accurate information from retailers, especially on essential services like electricity” (CHOICE media release, 14 July 2026). Origin did not admit any breach of the Australian Consumer Law but committed to the refunds, retiring the plan, and revised marketing practices.

How To Check If You Are One of the 4,500

Four practical steps for anyone who thinks they might be on the list. First, you do not have to lodge a claim. Origin will initiate contact by email, SMS and by post over the coming weeks. If you are still an Origin customer, log into your My Account dashboard and check the name of your current or previous electricity plan. If you see “Ongoing Saver” listed for any billing period, you are almost certainly in scope. If you are a former Origin customer, dig out any of your past bills or the welcome pack, look for the plan name in the top-right corner of the tariff summary, and if in doubt call Origin on 13 24 61 (the residential customer service number, published on origin.com.au) and ask them to check.

Second, watch out for scam callers. Origin, the ACCC and IDCARE have all flagged that opportunistic scammers ring customers after refund announcements pretending to represent the company. Origin has confirmed its official communications will not ask for your credit-card number or banking details, and legitimate refunds will either credit your existing Origin billing account or refund to the account already on file. If a caller asks you to “confirm” your card details, hang up. Call Origin back on an independently-sourced number and, if you have already shared personal information, contact IDCARE on 1800 595 160 or report the incident to scamwatch.gov.au (ACCC scam guidance, 14 July 2026). Third, if the refund is important and Origin has not contacted you within eight weeks, escalate to the free Energy and Water Ombudsman in your state or territory. Fourth, and this is the important one, use the moment to re-check your current plan against the Australian Government’s Energy Made Easy comparison tool. A CHOICE analysis last year found that in some cases switching to a cheaper plan with the same retailer would have saved households more than the refund itself. Origin’s undertaking closes one door, but every retailer still charges more than a shopper who compares actively.

STAX Collapses, ASIC Report Shows $3.66 Billion In Retail Failures

Cult Perth-born activewear brand STAX has appointed liquidators after receivers failed to find a buyer, and its customers have been told bluntly by the company: gift cards and credit notes will not be honoured, no returns or exchanges will be accepted, and pre-orders placed before 24 June 2026 may or may not be fulfilled subject to a resolution with the third-party logistics provider (PerthNow by Kelsey Reid, 13 July 2026). Founders Matilda Murray and Don Robertson, who launched the brand from a Perth bedroom in 2015, told customers on Monday they had read “hundreds of messages during what has been the most difficult chapter of our lives,” but that control of the company and its assets now sits with the receivers (7NEWS by Emma Kirk, 14 July 2026). Brian Silvia and Michael Hird of CasCap Advisory were appointed as liquidators on Friday 10 July, and Joseph Hansell and Asjadi Hone of FTI Consulting have been receivers on behalf of NAB since June. If you are a STAX customer holding a gift card or an unfulfilled order, ask your bank about a Section 271 chargeback for undelivered goods (this works if you paid by credit card and the transaction was in the last six months), and lodge a proof of debt as an unsecured creditor via CasCap Advisory. STAX is the second high-profile Australian retail collapse in as many weeks. Congo Brands Australia, the local distributor for Logan Paul and KSI’s Prime Hydration drinks, was placed into voluntary administration on 7 July with the first creditors meeting scheduled for Friday 17 July (Insolvency Insider Australia, 12 July 2026).

The context around both collapses landed the same week from a different angle. On 7 July ASIC published its first-ever detailed dataset on voluntary administrations and deeds of company arrangement, revealing that 238 retail businesses have collapsed since 2021 with $3.66 billion in combined liabilities (Jeweller Magazine by Samuel Ord, 10 July 2026). ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke noted that most smaller retail administrations, those with less than $1 million in liabilities, end up in straight liquidation rather than a rescue deed. And yet a CommBank Research release the same week confirmed shopping-centre vacancy has dropped to 4.4 per cent, its lowest reading since 2018, and landlords are backfilling closed stores fast (CommBank Newsroom, 15 July 2026). Translation for shoppers: the churn is real, so buy from Australian-owned retailers with a clean trading history and a real customer-service phone number, use your credit card (not debit) whenever a purchase is large or a delivery is more than 21 days away, and keep receipts.

Petrol Up 16 Cents Since 30 June, Excise Relief Ends 2 August

The ACCC’s 18th weekly fuel price monitoring update has national average unleaded at 167.5 cents per litre, up roughly 16 cents from the 30 June low point after the government’s partial restoration of fuel excise on 1 July (ACCC weekly report summary via IndexBox, 10 July 2026). The remaining excise relief expires on Sunday 2 August 2026, at which point pump prices are expected to step up again by up to 8 cents per litre. Practical shopper moves this week: buy on the low day of your local city price cycle (typically Monday or Tuesday in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and Wednesday in Adelaide), use a fuel-finder app such as MotorMouth or the ACCC-supported state government sites to compare within 10 kilometres of home, and stack a 4-cents-per-litre supermarket rewards discount where you can. If your household drives 400 kilometres a week in an average family car, that combination is worth roughly $10 to $15 a fortnight relative to the highest point of the cycle. Not a fortune, but it more than covers the average $60 Origin refund landing in the same window.

Five Fresh Australian Stores, Audited at Dawn

Five stores. Five categories. All fresh names today, none carried over from the last three days, all headline discounts verified from the live sale pages this morning.

1Today’s Top
DiscountKick Push SkateSkateboardingUp to 86 per cent off Kick Push Skate: complete skateboards, decks, trucks, wheels and skate hardware from the Australian-owned specialist trading online and from its Sydney warehouse with same-week dispatch across Australia.86%OFF2RebelSport ClothingUp to 85 per cent off Rebel: running shoes, activewear, gym gear, cricket, football and Olympic-brand ranges from Australia’s biggest sport-and-outdoor retailer, with over 160 stores and click-and-collect from your local shopping centre.85%OFF3ShowpoWomen's FashionUp to 80 per cent off Showpo: dresses, jumpsuits, denim, workwear and event pieces from the Australian-owned Sydney-based womenswear label, with Afterpay, Zip and free returns on full-price orders.80%OFF4DecjubaWomen's WearUp to 70 per cent off Decjuba: knitwear, coats, denim and workwear from the Australian-owned Melbourne-based womenswear label, with over 130 stores across Australia and New Zealand and free shipping over $80.70%OFF5EckersleysArt SuppliesUp to 70 per cent off Eckersleys Art Supplies: acrylic and oil paints, brushes, canvases, sketchbooks and pens from the family-owned Melbourne-founded art specialist, with stores from Perth to Brisbane and Zip and Afterpay at checkout.70%OFF

% discounts shown are indicative across each store’s sale range. Individual product savings vary.

Other Deals Worth A Look

Beyond the Top 5, a handful of other Australian-owned retailers are worth a look on the Thursday of the second full trading week of the new financial year. Dusk (today’s Top 6 ticker pick) has 60 per cent off candles, diffusers and homewares from the Australian-owned Melbourne-based homewares label, with Afterpay and free shipping over $50. Rockwear is running up to 50 per cent off Australian-designed activewear, gym leggings and sports bras from the Melbourne-based label, with click-and-collect available in most state capitals. Koala has clearance pricing on mattresses, sofas and bedroom furniture from the Australian-owned certified B Corp with 120-night trials. Myer has up to 60 per cent off across menswear, womenswear and homewares as the Melbourne-headquartered department store continues its winter runout. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, all backed by the Australian Consumer Law.

Our Take

Two stories in one morning tell the same consumer-protection story from opposite ends. On the ACCC side, a five-year regulatory experiment (the designated-complaint framework) has produced its first refund, $60 a household times 4,500 households, on an energy plan that was named for a saving it did not deliver. On the collapse side, a wildly popular activewear label that raised eyebrows for taking on Nike and Lululemon has left thousands of customers holding gift cards worth nothing. Both remind us that the paperwork matters. A plan named “Saver” is not automatically a saving. A gift card is not a savings account, it is an unsecured claim against a company that may or may not be trading in eight weeks. The Australian Consumer Law is the strongest household protection in this country’s history, but it works only if you use it: read the plan name and the tariff, buy from retailers with a proven Australian trading history, and put big purchases on a credit card so the bank is your first line of defence.

That is exactly why It’s On Sale exists. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily against the store’s own price history. No trial traps, no hidden fees, no offshore marketplaces dressed up as a local brand. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. The AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “womens winter dresses under 100” or “kids skateboards half price”). None of it is Temu, Shein, AliExpress, Wish or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand. Browse Today’s Sales on the Thursday of the second full week of the new financial year, and make your money go further with Australian retailers who stand behind the ticket.

It’s On Sale Australia’s home for genuine retail deals. Browse today’s featured stores at itsonsale.com.au.

Neil Fairhead

CEO, It’s On Sale

inConnect

Wednesday morning and Australia is still counting the cost of Telstra’s 8 July software meltdown. CEO Vicki Brady returned from overseas leave on Friday to apologise in person, a Senate inquiry has been ordered, and Communications Minister Anika Wells confirmed civil penalties of up to $30 million are on the table under laws introduced after the 2025 Optus outage. Compensation is open, but unlike the automatic $100 Optus credit, Telstra is asking customers to lodge a complaint and prove their loss. Elsewhere the ACCC’s final Digital Platform Services Inquiry report finds 72 per cent of Australian consumers have hit potentially unfair practices when shopping online, petrol has jumped 16 cents per litre since the 30 June excise cut expired, and Wednesday’s Top 5 is led by Sportsgirl at 90 per cent off.

Telstra CEO Says Sorry as Senate Grills Outage Fallout

Telstra’s network is back to normal, but the political fallout is only just beginning. CEO Vicki Brady, who was overseas on holiday when the 8 July outage hit, returned to Sydney on Friday morning and told a media conference: “We have let our customers and Australians down and for that I am deeply sorry” (ABC News, 10 July 2026). The 12-hour outage began at 4:30am AEST on Wednesday 8 July and affected roughly 25 million mobile services connected through Telstra, including customers on MVNOs Boost Mobile, Belong, ALDI Mobile and Tangerine Telecom (The Silicon Review, 8 July 2026). Regional trains on Victoria’s V/Line network were suspended, Tyro payment terminals dropped out across cafes and retailers, and 639 welfare checks had to be run on customers whose Triple Zero calls failed to connect (The Guardian, 11 July 2026). Seven of those callers needed emergency assistance after their initial call did not go through.

The root cause was a software defect in time-synchronisation servers at Telstra data centres in Sydney and Melbourne. The GPS timer briefly reset and, in the words of one expert quoted by The Guardian, briefly made the network behave as if it were November 2006, triggering a “digital domino effect” that disconnected customers within minutes. Michael Ackland, Telstra’s CFO, confirmed the outage was not a cyber attack and that fraudsters attempting to exploit the confusion had already been reported. On Saturday 11 July the Senate announced Telstra executives would be summoned for testimony as part of a broader inquiry originally opened after the 2025 Optus outage (ABC News, 11 July 2026). Communications Minister Anika Wells confirmed that under the post-Optus regulations, Telstra faces civil penalties of up to $30 million and must lodge a formal report with the Australian Communications and Media Authority within 45 days explaining what happened and how it will be prevented (Minister Wells press conference, 10 July 2026). Brady also confirmed that Telstra’s Remuneration Committee will formally review executive bonuses in light of the incident (The Guardian video, 10 July 2026). It is the third national outage in under a year for the $56 billion telco.

The consumer-side message is straightforward. If your mobile service, EFTPOS terminal, ride-share app or transport pass was affected between 4:30am and 4pm on Wednesday 8 July, Telstra is offering compensation but you have to ask for it and document it. Ackland told reporters at his 8 July press conference that customer compensation would be worked through once services were fully restored, and Telstra confirmed by the weekend that individual and small-business customers can lodge complaints through the online complaints form on telstra.com.au. Unlike the Optus outage where a $100 automatic data credit was applied to every affected customer, Telstra’s remedy is opt-in and needs supporting evidence (7NEWS, 14 July 2026).

How To Claim Compensation From Telstra This Week

Three practical steps for households and small businesses. First, put together the evidence now while the outage is still fresh. Note the times you tried to make a call or use data on 8 July, screenshot any bounced texts or failed transactions, keep receipts for any alternative transport (Uber, taxi, rideshare) you had to pay for on 8 to 9 July, and if you are a business owner, log every declined EFTPOS transaction and the estimated revenue impact. The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is asking specifically for “detailed records of the outage’s effect on your customers and business partners, and any losses incurred,” and for small businesses to show “steps taken to protect your business from the impacts of losing service.”

Second, lodge the complaint. Residential and consumer customers should use the online complaints form linked from the Telstra outage page, or call 13 22 00 to speak with a representative. Small businesses can also use the online form or ring the dedicated business number on 1800 242 728. Ask for a service credit or refund for the hours you had no service, and if you incurred direct financial loss (missed sales, cancelled bookings, extra transport costs) request a compensation assessment through the same form. Telstra has warned that lost income beyond the direct outage window will not automatically be covered, so expect a case-by-case review (Telstra outage update, 9 July 2026).

Third, escalate if Telstra says no. If you cannot reach Telstra, or you are not satisfied with the response, the free Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman handles disputes on your behalf. Call 1800 062 058 or lodge online, and if you have current safety or health risks the TIO asks for a quicker response (TIO consumer guidance, 8 July 2026). Victorian passengers who paid for alternative transport between 6am Wednesday 8 July and 12pm Thursday 9 July can also claim reasonable extra transport costs from V/Line by uploading receipts, with claims due by Monday 27 July 2026 (OzBargain summary, 13 July 2026). Finally, stay alert for scam calls. Brady and Ackland both flagged that fraudsters are already ringing Telstra customers pretending to be from the telco. If you get a call about compensation you were not expecting, hang up and dial Telstra directly on 13 22 00 (Vicki Brady message to customers, 13 July 2026).

ACCC Report: 72 Per Cent of Aussie Online Shoppers Hit Unfair Practices

The ACCC has published the final report of its five-year Digital Platform Services Inquiry (DPSI), and the consumer-facing findings will resonate with any Australian who has bought something online in the last 12 months. Of Australians surveyed for the report, 72 per cent said they had encountered “potentially unfair practices” when shopping online, and 83 per cent supported a specialised independent external dispute resolution scheme for users of digital platforms (Johnson Winter Slattery analysis, 10 July 2026). The common practices identified across online retail marketplaces include manipulative design (false urgency, subscription traps, default settings that steer consumers away from their own preferences), fake reviews, and product safety issues. The ACCC also flagged that AI may exacerbate existing consumer harms or create new ones, particularly around scams and inauthentic reviews.

The report contains six recommendations. The two that matter most for shoppers are the economy-wide unfair-trading-practices prohibition (which the 2026 Unfair Trading Practices Act legislated on 2 July and takes effect 1 July 2027) and a new set of digital-platform-specific consumer measures including mandatory processes to remove scams, harmful apps and fake reviews, plus mandatory internal dispute resolution standards ensuring “accessibility, timeliness, accountability, the option to escalate to a human representative, and transparency,” and an independent external ombudsman scheme for online-marketplace complaints. Combined with the Telstra outage backlash and the 1 October card-surcharge rule change, this is arguably the strongest 12-month stretch for Australian consumer-law reform since the ACL first came into force in 2011.

Petrol Up 16 Cents Since 30 June; Card Surcharge Ban Locked In For October

The ACCC’s 18th weekly fuel price monitoring update shows national average unleaded has climbed to 167.5 cents per litre, up roughly 16 cents from the 30 June low point, after the government’s partial restoration of fuel excise on 1 July (ACCC weekly fuel monitoring, 10 July 2026). The remaining excise relief expires on 2 August 2026, at which point pump prices are expected to step up again. Practical shopper moves this week: fill up on the low points of your local city price cycle (typically Monday or Tuesday in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and Wednesday in Adelaide), use a fuel-finder app such as MotorMouth or the ACCC-supported state government sites to compare within a 10km radius, and stack a 4-cents-per-litre supermarket rewards discount where you can (IBTimes Australia consumer tips, 13 July 2026).

Also worth pencilling in: the Reserve Bank’s card-surcharge changes take effect on 1 October 2026, when Visa, MasterCard and eftpos can introduce “no surcharge” rules that stop merchants passing card fees on to customers. The average Australian pays between 1.5 and 2 per cent in card surcharges on tap-and-go purchases today. For a household spending $2,000 a month on cards, that is roughly $30 to $40 a month back in the family budget from October onward. The excessive-pricing prohibition, which applies only to businesses with more than $30 billion in annual turnover (Coles and Woolworths), also went live on 1 July, reinforcing the “Down Down” and “Prices Dropped” enforcement pipeline the Federal Court kicked off last week.

Five Fresh Australian Stores, Audited at Dawn

Five stores. Five categories. All fresh names today, none carried over from the last three days, all headline discounts verified from the live sale pages this morning.

1Today’s Top
DiscountSportsgirlWomen's FashionUp to 90 per cent off Sportsgirl: dresses, knits, denim, workwear and Y2K-revival pieces from the Australian-owned womenswear label headquartered in Melbourne, with free returns and Afterpay across every state.90%OFF2General PantsYouth Fashion50 per cent off General Pants Co: denim, streetwear, sneakers and Australian and imported labels from the youth-fashion retailer with stores in every capital and same-day dispatch on weekdays.50%OFF3Merchant 1948Men's Wear50 per cent off Merchant 1948: leather boots, loafers, sneakers and accessories from the family-run New Zealand and Australian footwear specialist trading through Australian stores and online with local returns.50%OFF4SUNNYLiFEOutdoor & CampingUp to 50 per cent off SUNNYLiFE: beach towels, coolers, inflatables, picnic gear and homewares from the Australian-owned Sydney-based outdoor and lifestyle brand, ready for the first warm-weekend runout.50%OFF5Scooter HutSkate & WheelsUp to 50 per cent off Scooter Hut: scooters, helmets, parts and skate gear from the Australian-owned scooter specialist with warehouses in Queensland and New South Wales and Zip and Afterpay at checkout.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, a handful of other Australian-owned retailers are running strong cuts through the middle of the second full trading week of the new financial year. Sheike (today’s Top 6 ticker pick) has up to 50 per cent off dresses, event pieces and workwear from the Australian-owned womenswear label, with same-day dispatch from Sydney and free returns on full-price items. Rockwear is running up to 50 per cent off Australian-designed activewear, gym leggings and sports bras from the Melbourne-based label. Koala has clearance pricing on mattresses, sofas and bedroom furniture from the Australian-owned certified B Corp with 120-night trials. Appliances Online has ongoing EOFY runout on fridges, washers and cooking with next-day delivery to most metro postcodes. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, all backed by the Australian Consumer Law.

Our Take

The Telstra outage matters not because a mobile network went down for 12 hours (they do, occasionally, and always will), but because of what happened next. A CEO cut short an overseas holiday to publicly apologise, a Senate inquiry was called within 72 hours, a $30 million penalty ceiling is now sitting on the desk of a regulator with a 45-day deadline, and Telstra’s Remuneration Committee has been directed to reconsider executive bonuses. That is what a mature consumer-protection regime looks like when it works. And the ACCC’s Digital Platform Services Inquiry closing at 72 per cent of Australians reporting unfair online-shopping practices means the same regime is being pointed squarely at online retail next. If you are running a subscription trial, a “free shipping” flow that surprises the customer with a fee at checkout, or a “was” price that has never actually been on the shelf, the Federal Court, the ACCC and now Parliament have all told you where they stand.

That is exactly why It’s On Sale exists. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily against the store’s own price history. No trial traps, no hidden fees, no offshore marketplaces dressed up as a local brand. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. The AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “winter womens dresses under 100” or “kids scooters half price”). None of it is Temu, Shein, AliExpress, Wish or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand. Browse Today’s Sales on the Wednesday of the second full week of the new financial year, and make your money go further with Australian retailers who stand behind the ticket.

It’s On Sale Australia’s home for genuine retail deals. Browse today’s featured stores at itsonsale.com.au.

Neil Fairhead

CEO, It’s On Sale

inConnect

Tuesday morning and the subscription-trap era is officially closing in Australia. The Federal Court has ordered US-based JustAnswer to pay $10 million in penalties for signing Australians into hidden $45 to $75 monthly subscriptions while advertising a “fully refundable” AU$2 trial, and for falsely presenting itself as affiliated with the Fair Work Ombudsman. The penalty landed just days after Parliament passed the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026 on 2 July, which introduces an explicit prohibition on subscription traps, drip pricing and 18 other categories of unfair conduct, taking effect from 1 July 2027 with penalties of up to $100 million per breach. Elsewhere Macquarie has downgraded Woolworths to Underperform on a $37 price target, the Consumer Data Right expands to non-bank home-loan lenders from today, and consumer confidence has slipped again post-EOFY. Five fresh Australian stores today, five categories, none carried over from the last three days.

JustAnswer Fined $10 Million as Parliament Bans Subscription Traps

The Federal Court has ordered JustAnswer LLC to pay $10 million in penalties for misleading Australian consumers, refund affected customers, publish a corrective notice on its website, pay the ACCC’s costs and develop a consumer-law compliance program (David Braue, Information Age, 8 July 2026). The ACCC-led investigation began in September 2024 and covers conduct between November 2022 and August 2025, during which JustAnswer’s website chatbot invited Australians to “join JustAnswer for only AU$2 (fully refundable)” while signing them up to an ongoing subscription costing between $45 and $75 per month. A separate strand of the case covered June 2022 to February 2024, when the platform claimed to be affiliated with the Fair Work Ombudsman and enticed workers looking for pay and entitlement help to sign up on that basis. JustAnswer’s estimated global revenue is around $273 million, and the $10 million penalty represents almost 4 per cent of that annual figure.

ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward described the conduct as a “serious breach” of the Australian Consumer Law, saying JustAnswer misled consumers “into signing up to a subscription trap by not giving the necessary up-front information about ongoing subscription fees.” The penalty is deliberately timed to reinforce Parliament’s passage of the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026, which cleared both Houses on 2 July and takes effect from 1 July 2027 after a 12-month transition (Bird & Bird analysis, 10 July 2026). The bill introduces three headline reforms: a broad prohibition on unfair trading practices (new section 28B of the Australian Consumer Law), a targeted prohibition on drip pricing (new section 48A), and a full subscription-contracts framework (new sections 48B to 48H) requiring “comprehensible, audible, unambiguous” disclosure of ongoing fees and one-click cancellation.

Penalties under the new regime are steep by design. Corporations can be fined up to $100 million per breach, three times the value of any benefit obtained, or 30 per cent of adjusted turnover during the breach period, whichever is greater; individuals can be fined up to $2.5 million (HWLE Lawyers, 10 July 2026). Assistant Minister for Productivity Dr Andrew Leigh, introducing the bill, said Australians “know exactly what these reforms are about because they have lived it,” calling out the experience of spending “half a day trying to exit a subscription that took 30 seconds to sign up.” The JustAnswer ruling is the first major enforcement action under existing ACL sections 18 and 29 to be handed down since Parliament passed the new regime, and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer note that “any industry where the ACCC has already raised concerns about consumers being misled should consider themselves in the spotlight.”

How To Spot And Escape A Subscription Trap Right Now

The new law is not live until 1 July 2027, but the ACCC has been enforcing subscription-trap conduct under existing consumer law for years, and the practical read for Australian shoppers is that the tools to fight back are already available. The pattern is consistent: a headline offer of a low-price trial, a chatbot or checkout flow that collects card details without a clear ongoing-fee disclosure, and a monthly charge that continues silently until the customer takes action. In addition to JustAnswer, the ACCC has recently secured payments from eDreams ($59,400 for a fake “free trial” that automatically converted to a paid subscription) and HSK United Pty Ltd ($79,200 for misleading pricing across the Pain Free Aussies and Modern Aussies websites), signalling that the enforcement pipeline is running well ahead of the July 2027 start date.

Three practical steps for shoppers this week. First, run a bank-statement audit for the last six months looking for repeating charges under $80 you cannot immediately explain: streaming platforms, dating apps, dashcam software, VPNs, “premium” news tiers, meal-kit trials, gym add-ons. Second, cancel any subscription you did not knowingly agree to and, if the merchant refuses, contact your card issuer for a chargeback under Visa or Mastercard rules (both allow disputes for services not authorised or materially misrepresented). Third, if you believe the sign-up flow was misleading, lodge a formal complaint with the ACCC through the Australian Consumer Law consumer portal. The JustAnswer refund program is a live example of what happens when enough people make that complaint at once, and the same pathway is available for every subscription running the same trap in Australia today.

Macquarie Downgrades Woolworths; Open Banking Expands To Non-Bank Home Loans

Macquarie moved Woolworths from Neutral to Underperform yesterday morning with a new price target of AU$37 (MT Newswires via MarketScreener, 13 July 2026). The downgrade lands the day after the Federal Court found Coles misled shoppers with 13 of 14 sample “Down Down” tickets and set a 12-week benchmark for a genuine “Was” price. The FactSet average across sell-side analysts is now Hold at $35.93. Woolworths’ companion “Prices Dropped” case is still awaiting Federal Court judgment, and the analyst view is straightforward: a similar ruling would open Woolworths to a comparable penalty exposure, and the same 12-week benchmark would apply to every “Prices Dropped” red ticket already in-store. For household shoppers, the practical read is unchanged from yesterday. Treat every “Prices Dropped” ticket the way the Court now treats “Down Down,” and only accept the discount as real if the “Was” price was genuinely on the shelf for around three months.

Also live from today, the Consumer Data Right expands to non-bank home-loan lenders, with Athena, Pepper Money, Firstmac, Resimac, Liberty and La Trobe among the initial group required to share product data via the Consumer Data Right regime. Product data (interest rates, fees, LVR criteria) starts flowing today, with consumer data sharing (individual account data) rolled out in stages from 9 November 2026. ACCC Commissioner Dr Ian Oppermann said the expansion gives consumers access to information about “the broadest possible range of financial products.” The practical impact is that home-loan comparison and switching tools like Athena’s Home Loan Refresh and Compare the Market’s API should get materially sharper this quarter. For households on a variable-rate mortgage that has not been reviewed in the last 12 months, this is the cleanest structural moment of the year to switch. A 0.4 percentage-point cut on a $600,000 mortgage is roughly $150 per month.

Consumer Confidence Slips Again; Tuesday Deals Calendar

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index fell 1.2 points to 74.7 in the first week of July, 13.9 points below a year ago but 3.2 points above the 2026 weekly average of 71.5 (Ragtrader, 7 July 2026). Australians reporting they are “worse off” financially than a year ago outnumbered those who were “better off” by 51 per cent to 15 per cent. Only 19 per cent think now is a good time to buy major household items (42 per cent say it is a bad time). ANZ economist Sophia Angala noted household consumption growth is now easing from 2.5 per cent through 2025 to 1.1 per cent for 2026. Retail read: shoppers are still spending, but the threshold for what counts as a genuine deal has moved. The five stores below are exactly that, verified from the live sale pages at dawn this morning.

Two housekeeping reminders. From 1 July 2026, new cash-acceptance rules require some fuel and grocery retailers to accept cash payments up to $500 during trading hours between 7am and 9pm. And the Visa, MasterCard and EFTPOS card-surcharge ban remains locked in for October 2026, which will remove the surcharge line item from most in-store and online checkouts nationally. Both are consumer-facing structural changes worth pencilling in before the spring shopping cycle picks up.

Five Fresh Australian Stores, Audited at Dawn

Five stores. Five categories. All fresh names today, none carried over from the last three days, all headline discounts verified from the live sale pages this morning.

1Today’s Top
DiscountLounge LoversHomewares50 per cent off Lounge Lovers: sofas, dining and bedroom pieces from the Australian-owned furniture and homewares specialist with a Sydney showroom, click-and-collect and delivery across every state.50%OFF2Nine WestFashion Accessories50 per cent off Nine West: boots, heels, flats and handbags from the American footwear house sold through Australian-owned retail partners with local sizing, free returns and Afterpay.50%OFF3OPSMHealth & BeautyUp to 50 per cent off OPSM frames as part of the winter eyewear sale, with Medicare and private-health optical claiming and Australia-wide store network at checkout.50%OFF4PortmansWomen's Wear50 per cent off Portmans: workwear, event dressing, denim and knits from the Australian-owned womenswear label with same-day dispatch on weekdays and free returns on full-price items.50%OFF5TypoBooks & Gifts50 per cent off Typo: books, stationery, homewares, gifts and desk accessories from the Cotton On Group brand headquartered in Geelong, with Cotton On Perks stacking on sale prices.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, a handful of other Australian-owned retailers are running strong cuts through the Tuesday of the second full trading week of the new financial year. Telstra (today’s Top 6 ticker pick) has up to 40 per cent off selected phones, accessories and connected devices, with in-store pickup at more than 300 Australian locations. Veronika Maine is running up to 40 per cent off workwear and event dressing from the Australian-owned label. Sussan has 50 per cent off knits, denim and jackets, backed by the retailer’s Australian breast-cancer research contributions. UGG has up to 30 per cent off Australian-made sheepskin boots and slippers from the Sydney manufacturer. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, all backed by the Australian Consumer Law.

Our Take

The JustAnswer ruling matters because it reframes what an ordinary Australian shopper is entitled to expect from a “free trial.” For close to two decades, subscription businesses have been able to hide ongoing fees behind bright-coloured trial buttons, chatbot flows and multi-step cancellation gauntlets, and the enforcement bar was set at the level of provable individual harm. The Court and Parliament have now moved on both fronts. The Court has said $10 million is what a three-year subscription trap looks like on the current book. Parliament has said a $100 million ceiling and a positive obligation to disclose is what the next chapter looks like from July 2027. Every subscription business currently operating in Australia has 12 months to fix its checkout flow, and every Australian household has 12 months to audit the recurring charges already running against their card.

That is exactly why It’s On Sale exists. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily against the store’s own price history. No trial traps, no hidden fees, no offshore marketplaces dressed up as a local brand. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. The AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “winter homewares under 100” or “womens work dresses”). None of it is Temu, Shein, AliExpress, Wish or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand. Browse Today’s Sales on the Tuesday of the second full week of the new financial year, and make your money go further with Australian retailers who stand behind the ticket.

It’s On Sale Australia’s home for genuine retail deals. Browse today’s featured stores at itsonsale.com.au.

Neil Fairhead

CEO, It’s On Sale

inConnect

Monday morning and the Australian retail story has changed shape. The Federal Court has found that Coles Supermarkets misled shoppers in 13 of the 14 sample “Down Down” tickets tested by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, ruling the discounts illusory under sections 18 and 29 of the Australian Consumer Law. Justice Michael O’Bryan set a 12-week benchmark for a genuine “Was” price, drawing on Coles’ own internal pricing guardrails. Woolworths’ companion case is still to be decided, and Coles has said it is “reviewing the judgment,” with penalties potentially running into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Also in the frame: ASIC has now put a dollar figure on the four-year retail insolvency wave, and NBN wholesale prices lifted from 1 July, meaning most retail internet bills will move up this month. Five fresh Australian stores today, five categories, none carried over from the last three days.

Court Rules Coles Misled Shoppers Over “Down Down” Discount Claims

The Federal Court of Australia has handed down its decision in Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd [2026] FCA 598, finding that Coles made false or misleading representations in 13 of the 14 sample “Down Down” tickets considered in the liability hearing (ACCC media release, 12 July 2026). The case, brought by the ACCC in 2024, covered 245 products where Coles temporarily increased prices by at least 15 per cent between February 2022 and May 2023, then placed them on “Down Down” promotions at prices equal to or higher than the shelf price before the temporary rise.

Justice Michael O’Bryan accepted that reasonable minds may differ on what counts as a “reasonable period” for a “Was” reference price, but concluded that 12 weeks is the appropriate benchmark for a genuine established price, drawing directly on Coles’ own internal pricing guardrails which, until March 2022, required a minimum 12-week price establishment period (Justin Malbon, Hall & Wilcox, 11 July 2026). In the sample, some products had only been sold at the “Was” price for as little as seven days before the “Down Down” discount was applied, and around four weeks in other cases. The single allegation that failed involved a Nature’s Gift dog food ticket, which did not display a specific “Was” price and therefore conveyed only a more general message that the price was promotional.

“We welcome the Court’s finding that Coles breached the Australian Consumer Law,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said in the statement released with the judgment. “The ACCC brought this case in the public interest because we considered that Coles’ pricing practices within its ‘Down Down’ program made it harder for customers to identify genuine value for money while shopping for household essentials.” Coles has said it is “reviewing the judgment” (SME Business Daily Media, 12 July 2026) and an appeal is still possible. The Court has given Coles and the ACCC until 29 May to agree on penalties and other orders, including a possible donation to Foodbank, before the matter returns for a penalty hearing. The maximum penalty under the Australian Consumer Law is $50 million per breach, three times the reasonably attributable benefit, or 30 per cent of adjusted turnover during the breach period, whichever is greater, and a separate class action brought by consumers against Coles will be dealt with alongside the penalty phase.

How To Read a “Down Down” or “Prices Dropped” Ticket From Now On

The practical read for Australian shoppers is the 12-week rule. When a supermarket “Down Down” ticket shows a “Was” price and a lower current price, the discount can only be treated as a genuine saving if the “Was” price was actually on the shelf for a reasonable period, and the Court has now set the benchmark at approximately 12 weeks. If the “Was” price appeared briefly (a week, a month) before the reduction was announced, the discount is likely engineered. The ACCC’s pricing guidance confirms that businesses must not make false or misleading claims about prices, including the reason for changes, and the Court’s finding makes that principle enforceable against ticket-level campaigns like “Down Down” and Woolworths’ “Prices Dropped.”

The consumer tools worth using are already in shoppers’ hands. Both Coles and Woolworths display in-app price histories on individual product pages, and independent trackers like OzBargain and Grocery Watch keep long records of shelf pricing that shoppers can cross-check. From 1 July 2026, new Food and Grocery Code rules also ban very large retailers (currently only Coles and Woolworths, both with more than $30 billion in annual Australian turnover) from engaging in excessive pricing, defined as pricing significantly above the cost of supply plus a reasonable margin (ACCC Food and Grocery Code). Importantly, under section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law, a finding of misleading conduct does not require proof that individual consumers suffered actual harm: it is enough that ordinary consumers were likely to form an incorrect impression. That lowers the bar for future enforcement.

ASIC Puts $3.66 Billion Figure On Retail’s Four-Year Insolvency Toll

ASIC Report 836, released this month, has for the first time attached a dollar figure to the wave of Australian retail administrations since 2021. Between 2021 and 2025, 238 retail voluntary administrations were recorded nationally, with total liabilities of $3.66 billion and median liabilities of $2.10 million per appointment (Aleks Cvetkovic, Ragtrader, 7 July 2026). Across the whole VA universe, 44 per cent of appointments resulted in an approved deed of company arrangement and 50 per cent ended in liquidation, with the DOCAs paying unsecured creditors an average of 21.3 cents in the dollar (median 11.5 cents). That figure is the practical read on what a store gift card is likely to be worth if the retailer holding it enters administration and then converts to a DOCA.

The report reinforces the pattern already visible in the Betts, Barbeques Galore, Lincraft, Glue Store and ZEN Energy Retail administrations tracked through June and early July. The lesson for Australian households remains the same. If you hold a gift card, store credit, layby balance or lifetime warranty against a public brand that is under visible commercial stress, treat the credit like cash that expires. Spend it inside the trading window, not later. Under the Corporations Act, gift cards and store credits held against a company in voluntary administration typically rank as unsecured claims, and ASIC’s numbers now confirm those claims recover closer to 20 cents in the dollar than to 100. The full ASIC Report 836 is publicly available on the ASIC insolvency statistics page.

NBN Wholesale Prices Rise From 1 July, Retail Bills To Follow

NBN Co adjusted its wholesale prices across all speed tiers on 1 July 2026, and the retail price rises are landing in customer inboxes across July (Steven Nixon, Canstar, 9 July 2026). The largest wholesale rise is on Home Hyperfast (NBN 1000/50) at $4.04 per month, followed by Home Superfast (NBN 250/25) at $3.19, Home Standard (NBN 50/20) at $2.34, and Home Fast (NBN 100/20) at $2.32. The Home Basic 12/1 wholesale price is the only one moving the other way, dropping one cent. Retail internet providers typically pass on more than the wholesale increase, so shoppers on Telstra, Optus and TPG plans should expect increases of between $3 and $6 per month across Home Standard and above.

The consumer move is not to accept the letter. When the notice arrives, use it as a switching trigger. On Home Fast (NBN 100/20) plans in July, Belong, Superloop, Aussie Broadband, Kogan Internet and Dodo consistently undercut the majors by $10 to $20 per month for equivalent speed. Aussie Broadband and Superloop in particular publish real-world CVC (capacity) figures, meaning the advertised speed is closer to the delivered speed than at the discount providers. If you have been on the same NBN plan for more than 12 months, the July rise is the cleanest moment of the year to switch. And a housekeeping note for October shoppers: the Visa, MasterCard and EFTPOS card-surcharge ban is still locked in for October 2026, which will remove the surcharge line item from most in-store and online checkouts nationally.

Five Fresh Australian Stores, Audited at Dawn

Five stores. Five categories. All fresh names today, none carried over from the last three days, all headline discounts verified from the live sale pages this morning.

1Today’s Top
DiscountCotton OnCasual FashionUp to 50 per cent off Cotton On sale: winter basics, denim, sweats, activewear and kids from the Geelong-headquartered Australian retailer, with Cotton On Perks and free delivery over $55.50%OFF2GlassonsWomen's Wear50 per cent off across Glassons: knits, denim, jackets and workwear from the Australian-owned womenswear label with local warehousing, click-and-collect and free returns.50%OFF3HallensteinsMen's WearUp to 50 per cent off Hallenstein Brothers: outerwear, knits, chinos and basics from the New Zealand and Australia menswear specialist, backed by local sizing and free returns.50%OFF4Healthy LifeHealth & BeautyUp to 50 per cent off Healthy Life: Australian-owned online health and pharmacy specialist covering vitamins, skincare, personal care and Australian-made supplements, with free shipping over $79.50%OFF5HouseHomewares50 per cent off House: kitchen, cookware, glassware and homewares from the Australian-owned specialist chain, plus HouseVIP rewards and Australia-wide delivery.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, a handful of other Australian-owned retailers are running strong cuts through the Monday of the second full trading week of the new financial year. Macpac (today’s Top 6 ticker pick) has up to 50 per cent off winter jackets, thermals, packs and hiking layers from the New Zealand and Australia outdoor specialist. Kathmandu is running up to 50 per cent off winter jackets and packs. OPSM has up to 50 per cent off frames as part of the winter eyewear sale, with Medicare and health-fund claiming still available at checkout. Lounge Lovers has 50 per cent off across selected sofas and dining, with free Australian delivery on selected metros. Portmans is running up to 50 per cent off workwear and event dressing. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, all backed by Australian Consumer Law.

Our Take

The “Down Down” ruling matters because it changes what an ordinary Australian shopper is entitled to expect from a headline discount claim. For years, Coles and Woolworths trained the country to look for red tickets and to assume the “Was” price represented a stable, established shelf price. The Court has now said that assumption is legitimate, and that a “Was” price that has been on the shelf for a week, or a month, or even a quarter, is not a fair reference point. The 12-week benchmark is not an ACCC target; it is now a judicial standard. The lesson for shoppers is not that supermarket specials are worthless. It is that a supermarket discount is only meaningful when the “Was” price is genuinely established, and that is the read every red ticket should now get.

That is exactly why It’s On Sale exists. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily against the store’s own price history. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. The AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “winter jackets under 100” or “womens work dresses”). None of it is Temu, Shein, AliExpress, Wish or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand. Browse Today’s Sales on the Monday of the second full week of the new financial year, and make your money go further with Australian retailers who stand behind the ticket.

It’s On Sale Australia’s home for genuine retail deals. Browse today’s featured stores at itsonsale.com.au.

Neil Fairhead

CEO, It’s On Sale

inConnect

Sunday morning and the Australian shopping story is one of exits, not launches. Betts, the 134-year-old West Australian footwear chain that once ran nearly 220 stores nationwide, entered voluntary administration on 24 June and its administrators from Pitcher Partners have now confirmed 20 of the remaining 35 stores will close over the next four to eight weeks. Betts is not alone. Barbeques Galore closed its 62 company-owned stores nationally in early July (27 franchise sites remain trading under transitional arrangements), Lincraft is progressing through administration across its 67-store network, and Glue Store shuttered its Australian locations in late June. On the same page of the news, Assistant Minister for Competition Andrew Leigh has confirmed Temu has been signed on to the Australian Product Safety Pledge, even though the platform continues to publicly deny legal liability for unsafe products sold on it. Five fresh Australian stores today, five categories, none carried over from the last two days.

Betts Enters Administration, 20 of 35 Stores To Close

Lindsay Bainbridge and Andrew Yeo of Pitcher Partners were appointed voluntary administrators of Betts Pty Ltd and eight related entities on 24 June 2026, citing declining consumer sentiment, rising operating and transport costs and falling foot traffic at underperforming shopping centres (Dina Kovacevic, Insolvency Insider Australia, 5 July 2026). The administrators plan to close 20 of the group’s 35 stores, leaving 15 locations trading alongside its e-commerce operation. Affected stores are expected to continue operating for approximately four to eight weeks while stock is sold, with some outlets scheduled to close sooner.

The closures fall unevenly across the country: seven stores will close in Western Australia, four each in New South Wales and Victoria, three in South Australia, and one each in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Major stores in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth are expected to remain. Betts traces its origins to a Perth bootmaker’s shop established in 1892 and has stayed in the same family for five generations. At its peak the group operated close to 220 stores; the brand was relaunched in October 2025 as part of an effort to reposition the business. For Australian shoppers the practical read is straightforward. If you have a Betts gift card, store credit or an outstanding return, the four-to-eight-week window at closing stores is when to use it. The administrators say they will seek to transfer some affected workers into stores that remain open, and their review will decide whether the streamlined business is recapitalised, sold or continued through a deed of company arrangement.

The Winter Retail Killing Season, and What Gift Cards Are Still Worth

Betts is the newest name on a run of Australian retail administrations that has picked up sharply through the June to July window (The Nightly, 6 July 2026). Barbeques Galore closed its 62 company-owned stores nationally in early July, though 27 franchise-operated stores across regional NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia continue trading under transitional arrangements (OzBargain community record, 5 July 2026). Lincraft is working through administration across its 67-store fabric and craft network. Glue Store shuttered its Australian locations in late June. Business insolvencies across the country are tracking at close to double pre-pandemic levels, retail closure rates sit at 5.7 per cent, and food and beverage closure rates are running higher again at 9.3 per cent (Aus News Lanka, 7 July 2026).

The consumer-facing question is what to do with the gift cards, store credits, layby balances and lifetime warranties held against these names. Under the Corporations Act, gift cards and store credits held against a company in voluntary administration typically rank as unsecured claims, which means they can lose most or all of their value if the business is wound up. The practical guidance: spend outstanding Betts, Barbeques Galore, Lincraft and Glue Store credits inside the current trading window, not later. If a retailer’s brand is publicly under stress, treat the credit like cash that expires. Closing-store discounts are a legitimate opportunity if the item is one you were already planning to buy, but always cross-check the same product against an Australian competitor before committing, and never send a bank transfer for an in-store purchase.

Temu Joins Australian Product Safety Pledge, Still Denies Liability

Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh confirmed this week that Temu has been signed on to the Australian Product Safety Pledge, alongside a $6.6 million federal budget line for product-safety reforms (ABC News, 6 July 2026). The pledge commits online marketplaces to cooperate with the ACCC on product recalls, remove unsafe listings faster and share data on repeat-offender sellers. The catch is that Temu, unlike a domestic retailer, continues to publicly deny legal liability for unsafe products sold on the platform, treating itself as an intermediary between overseas sellers and Australian buyers. The family of a Queensland child burnt by a product bought on Temu told the ABC they were furious that the platform had been welcomed into the pledge without accepting responsibility for injuries already caused.

For Australian households the read is not that Temu is now safe. It is that Australian shoppers still carry the full consumer risk when the seller is offshore, the postage is from China, and the platform’s stated position is that it does not accept liability. The Australian Consumer Law applies fully and simply against an Australian-owned or locally fulfilled retailer: you can demand a refund, repair or replacement for a product that is unsafe, not as described, or not fit for purpose, and the retailer cannot contract out of that. The same protection is much harder to enforce against an overseas platform that denies it is the seller. This is why It’s On Sale lists Australian-owned or Australian-fulfilled retailers only and refuses Temu, Shein, AliExpress and Wish.

The Sunday Calendar: Half-Price Catalogue Closing, Myer Stocktake, Winter Bedding Cycle

The Coles and Woolworths half-price catalogue for the week of 8 to 14 July closes on Monday night. Between the two chains, close to 196 grocery items are running at 50 per cent off or better in the current cycle (97 Coles, 99 Woolworths), and the OzBargain community has been tracking the sharpest picks daily (OzBargain groceries feed). Sunday morning is the last practical window to plan the shop against the catalogue before it rotates. Meanwhile Myer’s Stocktake Sale continues into its closing week and the Myer Toy Sale runs to Sunday 19 July, both catalogue-priced and both worth a Myer One redemption if you have points sitting (Getprice, July 2026).

The winter bedding cycle is also worth a look this weekend. Original Mattress Factory (Australian-made pocket-spring beds direct from the factory), Pillow Talk (Australian-owned bedding specialist) and Big Bedding are running staged winter markdowns before the August tax refund window drives the next demand spike. If you were already planning a mattress or duvet replacement, the discount depth today is meaningfully better than late August will be. And a housekeeping note for buyers: the Visa, MasterCard and EFTPOS card-surcharge ban is still locked in for October 2026 (Andrew Leigh transcript, 2 July 2026), meaning the cost of a purchase you make in-store or online in the last three months of 2026 will fall automatically by the surcharge amount currently added at checkout.

Five Fresh Australian Stores, Audited at Dawn

Five stores. Five categories. All fresh names today, none carried over from Friday or Saturday, all headline discounts verified from the live sale pages this morning.

1Today’s Top
DiscountDecjubaWomen's WearUp to 70 per cent off Decjuba’s sale: dresses, denim, knits, coats and workwear from the Australian-designed womenswear label with local warehousing, free returns and Afterpay.70%OFF2DuskHomewares & CandlesUp to 60 per cent off Dusk’s clearance: candles, diffusers, home fragrance, bath and gifting from the Australian-owned homewares specialist since 2000, stocked across more than 130 stores nationally.60%OFF3MyerDepartment StoresUp to 60 per cent off across Myer’s Stocktake Sale and winter clearance: fashion, homewares, beauty and toys from Australia’s largest department store, with Myer One rewards and free returns.60%OFF4Original Mattress FactoryBeddingUp to 60 per cent off Original Mattress Factory: Australian-made pocket-spring and hybrid mattresses direct from the factory, with free Australia-wide delivery and a 10-year warranty.60%OFF5Robert GordonHomewaresUp to 60 per cent off Robert Gordon: Australian-designed and Victorian-made ceramics, dinnerware, mugs and homewares from the family-owned pottery in Pakenham, in production since 1998.60%OFF

% discounts shown are indicative across each store’s sale range. Individual product savings vary.

Other Deals Worth A Look

Beyond the Top 5, a handful of other Australian-owned retailers are running strong cuts through the weekend. Australian Leather (today’s Top 6 ticker pick) has up to 50 per cent off Australian sheepskin Ugg-style boots, moccasins and slippers, made in the Thornleigh, NSW factory. House is running up to 50 per cent off kitchen, cookware and homewares from the Australian-owned specialist. Kathmandu has up to 50 per cent off winter jackets, thermals and packs from the New Zealand and Australia outdoor specialist. Hallensteins has up to 50 per cent off basics and outerwear across menswear. Glassons is running 50 per cent off across womenswear including knits, denim and jackets. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, all backed by Australian Consumer Law.

Our Take

Zoom out from the day and the Australian retail landscape looks like a strong argument for buying from local sellers whose consumer-law exposure is real. Betts, Barbeques Galore, Lincraft and Glue Store are all closing or shrinking their store networks under the same pressure: high transport costs, weaker shopping-centre foot traffic, and a customer base that has quietly moved a big share of its spending online. That is not going to reverse, and it means gift cards and store credits held against a public brand-under-stress should be treated like cash that expires. The winning move for Australian shoppers is to spend outstanding credits inside the trading window, cross-check items against an independent competitor, and back the Australian-owned and locally fulfilled operators that are still investing in the country.

That is exactly why It’s On Sale exists. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. The AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “womens dresses under 80” or “ugg boots clearance”). None of it is Temu, Shein, AliExpress, Wish or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand. Browse Today’s Sales on the Sunday of the second week of the new financial year, and make your money go further with Australian retailers who stand behind their products.

It’s On Sale Australia’s home for genuine retail deals. Browse today’s featured stores at itsonsale.com.au.

Neil Fairhead

CEO, It’s On Sale

inConnect

Saturday morning and the retail news for Australian shoppers is being written by the regulator. The ACCC has blocked Coles from acquiring a vacant retail site in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, the first time any proposed retail acquisition has been refused under the new mandatory merger regime that took effect on 1 January. On the same page of the calendar, the world-first supermarket excessive-pricing prohibition kicked in on 1 July, giving the regulator direct legal power to challenge Coles and Woolworths shelf prices that sit “significantly excessive” above supply cost plus a reasonable margin. British group Frasers has launched a full takeover bid for Accent Group, the country’s largest footwear retailer, and the Accent board has told shareholders to reject it. Five fresh Australian stores today, all Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, none carried over from the last two days.

ACCC Blocks Coles Kalgoorlie Site Acquisition

The ACCC has formally opposed Coles Group’s proposed acquisition of a leasehold interest for a vacant 2,800 square metre site in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia, where the supermarket chain had planned to build a new full-line supermarket and Liquorland. It is the first proposed retail acquisition refused under the new mandatory merger regime that took effect on 1 January 2026 (Keira Joyce, Food & Drink Business, 7 July 2026). The regulator ruled that Coles building on the site would substantially lessen competition in Kalgoorlie by driving an effective independent full-line competitor out of the market, and that new entry would not be timely or sufficient to offset the loss.

ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh said the decision came down to the role independent supermarkets play in regional Australia: “Independent supermarkets are an important competitive constraint on the major supermarket chains. They provide consumers with meaningful choice, competition on service, quality and range, and competition on price for some products” (Cat Fredenburgh, Lawyerly, 1 July 2026). For regional Australian households, the practical read is direct. The regulator is now willing to say no to a proposed Coles or Woolworths footprint expansion on competition grounds alone, and it is prepared to weigh the exit risk of the local independent as a real cost to shoppers. Coles can seek Tribunal review; competition lawyers are watching this file closely because it is the template for every regional acquisition that follows.

World-First Supermarket Excessive-Pricing Law Now in Force

On 1 July 2026 Australia became the first country in the world to explicitly prohibit “excessive pricing” by named supermarket retailers under the Food and Grocery Code. Coles and Woolworths (the only chains captured by the 30 billion dollar annual revenue threshold) are now barred from setting a shelf price that is “significantly excessive” compared with the supply cost of the product plus a reasonable margin (Ground News, 7 July 2026). Penalties top out at 10 million dollars per breach, three times the benefit obtained, or 10 per cent of the retailer’s annual Australian turnover, whichever is greater.

ACCC Acting Chair Catriona Lowe has said the regulator will focus early enforcement on the categories where excessive pricing hits Australian households hardest (staples, produce, packaged basics) and will publish its analysis to lift deterrence across the sector (The Times Australia, 5 July 2026). For weekly shoppers the practical tool is simple. If a product’s shelf price at Coles or Woolworths looks out of step with the same product at an independent grocer or with the wholesale price the same brand quotes on its website, that is now the kind of price gap the regulator has legal power to challenge, and the ACCC accepts consumer reports directly. Keep the receipt, snap the shelf tag, note the date, and lodge it.

Frasers Group Launches Takeover Bid for Accent Group

British listed retailer Frasers Group (the Mike Ashley vehicle behind Sports Direct, House of Fraser and a growing global stable) has launched a full takeover bid for Accent Group, Australia’s largest footwear retailer and the operator of Platypus, Athlete’s Foot, Skechers Australia, Hype DC and Stylerunner (Fibre2Fashion, 4 July 2026). The offer opened on 30 June and closes 30 July. Accent’s board has recommended shareholders reject the bid as inadequate, and Frasers has applied to the Australian Takeovers Panel to intervene against the board’s response.

For Australian shoppers the interesting question is what happens to sizing, stock and warranties across roughly 900 Accent Group storefronts if Frasers wins. Frasers is a low-margin, big-volume operator with a track record of stripping brand overheads and reworking store networks. Whatever the outcome, the current sale mechanics at Platypus, Athlete’s Foot and Skechers Australia continue as normal through July, and gift cards remain honoured. If you have store credit, use it in the current window rather than sitting on it.

WA Footwear Chain, Retail Administrations, and What is Still Rolling

A 134-year-old Western Australian footwear chain is closing seven of its eleven stores across the state, the latest name in a run of long-standing Australian retail closures that has picked up pace through the June to July window (The West Australian retail feed). Kathmandu’s parent has been restructuring capital, a well-known Australian activewear label has moved into voluntary administration this quarter, and Apple has quietly lifted Australian sticker prices on iPad and MacBook lines this month. The read for shoppers is not to panic-buy at closing stores, but to be careful with gift-card balances if a brand is publicly under stress, use closing-store discounts on things you were already planning to buy, and check whether the item is stocked cheaper by an Australian competitor before committing.

On the calendar itself, Myer’s Stocktake Sale is in its closing week and the Myer Toy Sale runs to Sunday 19 July, both catalogue-priced and both worth a Myer One redemption if you have points sitting (Getprice, July 2026). Woolworths kicks off a Commonwealth Games collectible coin promotion in partnership with the Royal Australian Mint on Tuesday 15 July, with three limited-edition coins available in-store for qualifying spend (Retail World, July 2026). The RBA does not sit again until Tuesday 11 August, so the cash rate stays at 4.10 per cent for the rest of July (Your Mortgage, 8 July 2026). And the card-surcharge ban on Visa, MasterCard and EFTPOS transactions remains locked in for October 2026 (Andrew Leigh transcript, 2 July 2026), removing another line-item cost from most in-store and online checkouts.

Five Fresh Australian Stores, Audited at Dawn

Five stores. Five categories. All fresh names today, none carried over from Thursday or Friday, all headline discounts verified from the live sale pages.

1Today’s Top
DiscountPrincess PollyWomen's WearUp to 80 per cent off Princess Polly’s sale: dresses, denim, tops, going-out wear and knits from the Australian-founded womenswear label with local Sydney warehousing, free returns and Afterpay.80%OFF2ShowpoFashion AccessUp to 80 per cent off Showpo’s Sale: dresses, occasion wear, tops, denim and accessories from the Australian-founded fast-turn womenswear label with Sydney warehousing and free Australian shipping over 50 dollars.80%OFF3UGG ExpressUgg BootsUp to 80 per cent off UGG Express: classic sheepskin boots, slippers and moccasins from the Australian sheepskin specialist, Australian warehoused with local dispatch and free returns on unworn stock.80%OFF4Eckersleys Art & CraftArt SuppliesUp to 70 per cent off Eckersleys Art and Craft: paints, canvas, brushes, journals, easels and craft supplies from the Australian art materials specialist since 1938, with 30-plus stores nationally.70%OFF5GrahamsJewelleryUp to 70 per cent off Grahams Jewellers: engagement rings, gold and silver chains, diamond studs, watches and gift jewellery from the Australian family-owned jeweller since 1959, with lifetime service and Australian workshops.70%OFF

% discounts shown are indicative across each store’s sale range. Individual product savings vary.

Other Deals Worth A Look

Beyond the Top 5, a handful of other Australian-owned retailers are running strong cuts through the weekend. Academy Brand (today’s Top 6 ticker pick) has up to 60 per cent off Australian-designed menswear including denim, tees, knitwear and outerwear. Forever New is running up to 60 per cent off Australian-founded womenswear across dresses, workwear, going-out and knits. The Hut has up to 60 per cent off homewares and lifestyle from the Australian-owned specialty retailer. David Jones is running its winter clearance across fashion, homewares and beauty with mid-season markdowns. Decjuba is up to 60 per cent off Australian-designed womenswear across dresses, denim and knits. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, all backed by Australian Consumer Law.

Our Take

Zoom out from the day and the message to Australian households is unusual. Inside a single fortnight the ACCC has blocked a Coles supermarket acquisition on competition grounds, activated a world-first excessive-pricing prohibition against Coles and Woolworths, opened its 10-day Down Down trial in the Federal Court, sued Amazon over Prime Video ad terms, sued a debt collector over 320,000 misleading notices, and locked in the October card-surcharge ban. Add the Frasers bid for Accent Group and the ongoing pressure on Chinese cross-border marketplaces (EU’s 3 euro parcel duty, ACCC investigation into Temu’s safety pledge), and the direction of travel across every corner of Australian retail is the same. Discount claims, subscription terms, “fresh” labels, “up to 80 per cent off” tickets and merger footprints all now need to be verifiable, not just marketable.

That is exactly why It’s On Sale exists. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. The AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “womens dresses under 80” or “ugg boots clearance”). None of it is Temu, Shein, AliExpress, Wish or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand. Browse Today’s Sales on the Saturday of the second week of the new financial year, with the regulator visibly on your side.

It’s On Sale Australia’s home for genuine retail deals. Browse today’s featured stores at itsonsale.com.au.

Neil Fairhead

CEO, It’s On Sale

inConnect

Friday morning and the Federal Court is where the retail action still is. The ACCC has just sued Amazon Australia (and its US parent) over Prime subscription contract terms that let the company force ads onto more than a million existing annual subscribers without a refund. The Coles Down Down 10-day trial has opened in Melbourne, with the regulator arguing the campaign created “utterly misleading” illusory discounts on 245 products. Depop is stripping its 10 per cent seller commission on 22 July and moving that cost to buyers. The EU has flipped a 3 euro customs duty onto every parcel from Shein, Temu and AliExpress, and the ACCC continues to investigate the Temu safety pledge. Five fresh Australian stores today, all Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, none carried over from Wednesday or Thursday.

ACCC Sues Amazon Over Prime Video Ad Push

Australia’s competition regulator has filed Federal Court proceedings against Amazon Commercial Services Pty Ltd and Amazon Services LLC (its US parent), alleging five specific terms in Prime annual subscription contracts between November 2023 and August 2025 were unfair contract terms under Australian Consumer Law (TechShots, 7 July 2026). The core allegation: those terms allowed Amazon to unilaterally add advertising to Prime Video for more than a million existing annual subscribers, and to make other adverse changes to the service, without offering refunds or a genuine right to cancel. In July 2024 anyone wanting to keep the ad-free experience they had already paid for upfront (79 dollars a year) was told to pay an additional 2.99 dollars a month.

The ACCC is seeking declarations that the terms were void, civil penalties, consumer redress orders and legal costs. Around 850,000 annual subscribers are estimated to have been directly hit by the ad-forcing change (Academic Jobs, 5 July 2026). For any Australian household still on an annual Prime plan, the practical read is: hold every renewal receipt from that window, keep any email confirming the “no ads” promise you originally paid for, and watch for consumer redress details from the ACCC as the case progresses. Amazon has said it is reviewing the claim and has not yet filed its defence. This is a headline consumer-protection case, and the reputational damage lands squarely on Amazon in a week when Prime Day is running seven days in Australia (7 to 13 July) and independent reviewers keep pointing out that fewer than one in eight promoted discounts actually reach a new recorded low.

Coles Down Down Trial Opens in Melbourne Federal Court

A 10-day Federal Court hearing in Melbourne is now underway in the ACCC’s civil case against Coles Supermarkets over its Down Down pricing campaign, with Justice Michael O’Bryan hearing opening arguments on Monday 6 July (AAP via AOL, 8 July 2026). The regulator alleges Coles ran an “utterly misleading” pricing campaign between February 2022 and May 2023, briefly raising prices on around 245 staples (toothpaste, soft drinks, cheese, pet food) before advertising the reduced-back-to-normal number as a Down Down special. The ACCC opened by arguing this created “illusory” discounts and drove sales without giving households a genuine price benefit.

The trial follows the Federal Court’s finding last week that Coles made misleading representations on 13 of the 14 Down Down tickets already examined at the liability hearing (ACCC website). Coles denies wrongdoing, arguing the products were subject to natural price fluctuations and ordinary customers understood the market dynamics. For weekly shoppers, the read is the same one that has been building for a fortnight: screenshot any big-red price ticket that looks suspicious, note the shelf date, keep the receipt if you buy it, and if the “sustained reduction” was actually a two-week window inside a longer high-price period, that is now the kind of evidence the regulator is actively rewarded for pursuing.

Depop Strips 10 Per Cent Seller Commission, Shifts Fee to Buyers

Depop is scrapping its 10 per cent seller commission in Australia on 22 July and moving more of the cost onto buyers instead (Shopifreaks, 6 July 2026). Buyers will start paying a new marketplace fee of up to 5 per cent of the sale price plus 1 dollar per transaction. Sellers still cover Depop Payments processing (2.6 per cent plus 30 cents) via the Stripe-powered checkout that is now mandatory to list. The fee overhaul comes as eBay’s 1.2 billion dollar cash acquisition of Depop from Etsy awaits UK Competition and Markets Authority clearance, with a ruling due by 6 August (Australia’s ACCC cleared the deal in May).

For Australian second-hand fashion buyers, the practical effect from 22 July is that the “sticker price” on Depop stops being the total price. Add up to 6 dollars on a 100 dollar item on top of any shipping and payment processing. For sellers the change removes the commission but pushes buyer prices up, which typically compresses demand. If you have been meaning to buy something you have saved on Depop, the pre-22 July window is the cheaper window. If you have been meaning to sell, listing dates after 22 July are the cheaper window for you (but you will need to price competitively against the extra buyer fee).

EU Slaps 3 Euro Duty on Shein, Temu, AliExpress Parcels

The European Union has introduced a 3 euro customs duty on e-commerce parcels worth up to 150 euros imported from outside the bloc, effective 1 July, in a move targeted at Chinese ultra-low-price platforms including Shein, Temu and AliExpress (Shopifreaks, 6 July 2026). The temporary duty runs until July 2028, when the EU expects to move to a permanent category-based tariff system. Australia has no equivalent duty in place, but the direction of regulatory travel is now clear across three big consumer economies (EU, UK, US) that Chinese cross-border marketplaces will no longer trade duty-free forever.

Domestically, the ACCC’s investigation into Temu’s Australian Product Safety Pledge inclusion is still live after Choice complained in June that “substantial volumes” of dangerous products were being sold by pledge participants (ABC News, 5 July 2026). The federal 2026-27 budget allocated 6.6 million dollars over three years to overhaul the Australian product safety framework, including online marketplace reforms. For Australian households the read remains the same one we run every day at It’s On Sale: the retailers we feature (all Australian-owned or locally fulfilled) come with Australian Consumer Law protections, retail warranties enforceable in Australian courts, and refund rights the ACCC will actually back. Cross-border ultra-low-price marketplaces do not.

Myer Closeout Final Week, Toy Sale Rolling, Rates On Hold Until 11 August

Myer’s Stocktake Sale Closeout Offers are running the final week Monday 6 to Sunday 12 July, following the main stocktake window that closed in June (Myer, 3 July 2026). The Toy Sale Catalogue runs longer, 22 June to Sunday 19 July, with clearance pricing across LEGO, board games, outdoor toys and craft. If you have Myer One points sitting, closeout weeks are the highest-value redemption window because the base price is already the lowest of the campaign.

On monetary policy, the Reserve Bank does not sit in July, so the next cash rate decision is 11 August. The current cash rate is 4.10 per cent (Your Mortgage, 8 July 2026), and household consumer confidence rose off record lows in June but net buying intentions for major household items are still negative. On card payments, Assistant Minister for Competition Andrew Leigh confirmed this month that the ban on card surcharging for Visa, MasterCard and EFTPOS transactions kicks in October 2026 (Andrew Leigh transcript, 2 July 2026), removing another 1 to 2 per cent line item from most in-store and online checkouts. Between the excessive-pricing prohibition (1 July), the Down Down trial, the Amazon Prime lawsuit, the Coles-Kalgoorlie merger block and the coming surcharge ban, the second week of July is quietly turning into the most consumer-protective fortnight the Australian retail calendar has seen in a decade.

Five Fresh Australian Stores, Auditted at Dawn

Five stores. Five categories. All fresh names today, none carried over from Wednesday or Thursday, all headline discounts verified from the live sale pages.

1Today’s Top
DiscountSportsgirlWomen's FashionUp to 90 per cent off Sportsgirl’s sale range: knitwear, dresses, denim, outerwear and accessories from the Australian-owned womenswear label with 100-plus stores nationwide since 1948, free returns and click-and-collect.90%OFF2Rebel SportSport & FitnessUp to 85 per cent off Rebel Sport’s Fan Gear Clearance: AFL, NRL and A-League jerseys, sneakers and training kit from the Australian sporting-goods chain with 160-plus stores and free returns on unworn items.85%OFF3Kick Push SkateSkate & WheelsUp to 82 per cent off Kick Push Skate’s sale: skate decks, wheels, protective gear and skate apparel from the Australian-owned skate specialist with free shipping over 100 dollars and Australian warehousing.82%OFF4Elite SupplementsHealth & SupplementsUp to 80 per cent off Elite Supplements’ Sale: protein, pre-workout, recovery, vitamins and sports nutrition from the Australian-owned supplement retailer with 40-plus stores nationally and fast local dispatch.80%OFF5Colette HaymanBags & AccessoriesUp to 71 per cent off Colette Hayman’s Sale: handbags, wallets, jewellery, sunglasses and travel accessories from the Australian-owned accessory label since 1994, with 90-plus stores and free returns.71%OFF

% discounts shown are indicative across each store’s sale range. Individual product savings vary.

Other Deals Worth A Look

Beyond the Top 5, a handful of other Australian-owned retailers are running strong cuts through Friday. Baku Swimwear (today’s Top 6 ticker pick) has up to 70 per cent off swimwear, resort wear and accessories from the Australian swim label since 1985, with free returns and Australian warehousing. Dusk is running up to 70 per cent off candles, diffusers, homewares and gifting from the Australian-owned homeware chain with 130-plus stores. Eckersleys has up to 70 per cent off art supplies, paints, canvas, journals and craft from the Australian art materials specialist since 1938. Decjuba is running up to 70 per cent off Australian-designed womenswear across dresses, tops, denim and knits, with 130-plus stores. Showpo has up to 80 per cent off Australian-founded fast-turn womenswear including dresses, going-out wear and denim. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, all Australian Consumer Law backed.

Our Take

Zoom out from the day and the pattern is stark. In the last 10 days the ACCC has sued Amazon over Prime Video contract terms, sued a debt collector over 320,000 misleading notices, opened its 10-day Down Down trial against Coles, blocked a Coles supermarket acquisition in Kalgoorlie, fined Lactalis over “fresh milk” labels, activated the excessive-pricing prohibition against Coles and Woolworths, and confirmed the October card-surcharge ban. That is a regulator moving with genuine intent, and it is happening in the second week of a new financial year when most Australian households are still recovering from a hard June quarter. Add in the EU’s tariff strike against Shein and Temu, and the direction of travel is clear: the discount claim, the subscription click, the “fresh” label and the “up to 90 per cent off” ticket all now need to be verifiable, not just marketable.

That is exactly why It’s On Sale exists. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. The AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “womens knitwear under 80” or “AFL jersey clearance”). None of it is Temu, Shein, AliExpress, Wish or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand. Browse Today’s Sales on the Friday of the second week of the new financial year, with the regulator visibly on your side.

It’s On Sale Australia’s home for genuine retail deals. Browse today’s featured stores at itsonsale.com.au.

Neil Fairhead

CEO, It’s On Sale

inConnect

Thursday morning, and the Federal Court is doing overtime on behalf of Australian households. On 7 July the ACCC filed proceedings against debt collector ARMA Group Holdings and law firm Force Legal, alleging more than 320,000 misleading debt collection notices went out over three and a half years. On 3 July the same court ruled that Coles made misleading representations on 13 of the 14 Down Down price tickets it examined at the liability hearing, penalty phase to come. Amazon Prime Day is running in Australia from 7 to 13 July but independent analysis found fewer than one in eight discounted products actually reached a new recorded low. Coles is now in talks to buy the parent company of Petbarn and City Farmers for up to $4 billion, testing the new merger regime again. Five fresh Australian stores today, none carried over from Wednesday.

ACCC Sues ARMA Group Over 320,000 Misleading Debt Notices

The ACCC has filed Federal Court proceedings against debt collection agency ARMA Group Holdings Pty Ltd and law firm Force Legal Pty Ltd, alleging that the two companies together issued more than 320,000 misleading debt collection notices to Australian consumers over a period of more than three and a half years (Receivables Info, 7 July 2026). The ACCC alleges the notices misrepresented the legal status of the debts and the consequences of non-payment, including implying that Force Legal had been formally engaged to commence court action when in many cases it had not. The regulator will ask the court to declare the conduct misleading or deceptive under the Australian Consumer Law and to impose penalties and consumer redress.

The volume matters. 320,000 notices across 3.5 years averages to more than 250 misleading letters landing in Australian letterboxes every single day of the period covered by the pleadings. For any household that has received a payment demand from ARMA Group or a legal-looking letter from Force Legal since late 2022, the practical read is: do not pay from the letter alone. Australian Consumer Law entitles you to written proof of the debt, an itemised statement, and evidence that any legal escalation named in the letter has actually been authorised. Consumer credit lawyers spoken to by the trade press stress that the mere fact of a threat letter does not create a legal obligation. Keep every notice you have received, do not sign any acknowledgement of debt, and if the debt is genuinely owed, negotiate directly with the original creditor rather than the intermediary chasing it. The case sets a template the ACCC is highly likely to apply to any other bulk-notice debt collection operator whose paperwork does not match its authority.

Federal Court Rules Coles Misled on 13 of 14 Down Down Tickets

The Federal Court has found that Coles Supermarkets made misleading representations on 13 of the 14 Down Down price tickets that were considered at the liability hearing in the long-running ACCC price-representation case (ACCC website, 3 July 2026). The court held that in each of those 13 instances the ticket implied a genuine sustained reduction from a normal selling price when in fact the Down Down price was either the price the product had recently been reduced to as part of a preceding cycle, or matched a Woolworths equivalent price at the same time, or reflected a pass-through of a supplier price change that had already flowed through the market.

The lawyer-quoted commentary in the trade press was blunt: this is the first substantive judicial finding that the Down Down architecture itself, not just individual tickets, can breach the Australian Consumer Law when the pricing behind the ticket does not match the sustained-reduction implication. The Coles legal team has flagged an appeal option, but the penalty phase will now proceed regardless. For weekly shoppers the read is the same one that has been building since the excessive-pricing prohibition took effect 1 July and the merger-regime block on Kalgoorlie two days later: the era of unilateral supermarket price theatre is ending, and the two majors will need to underpin any big red discount ticket with a genuine sustained reduction. If a Down Down or Prices Dropped ticket looks aggressive, screenshot it, note the shelf date, and file it. The ACCC is now actively rewarded for pursuing evidence like that.

Amazon Prime Day AU 7 to 13 July: Under One in Eight True Lows

Amazon Australia’s Prime Day 2026 event is running as a standalone seven-day sale from 12:01 AM AEST Tuesday 7 July to 11:59 PM AEST Monday 13 July, but the shopper-side numbers are unflattering (Tech Times, 7 July 2026). Independent analysis of the discounted line-up across major categories found that fewer than one in eight products with a price change during the event actually reached a new recorded low. Most of the promoted discounts are cycling back to prices seen elsewhere on the calendar (April end-of-financial-year run-up, Black Friday 2025, Boxing Day 2025) rather than delivering genuinely fresh sub-baseline pricing.

For Australian shoppers the read is simple: verify before you click. Any big-ticket item worth more than a few hundred dollars should be cross-checked against its 90 to 180 day price history on a tracker before you commit. Genuine Australian-owned electronics competitors are running deep price cuts the same week: JB HiFi’s This Week’s Hottest Deals cycled through Tuesday, and Domayne, Harvey Norman and Bing Lee are running EOFY carryover pricing on appliances. On winter apparel and homewares the Top 6 stores in today’s Brief (Sussan, Lounge Lovers, Novo, Johnny Bigg, Booktopia and Mr Toys, all Australian-owned or locally fulfilled) offer categories Prime Day does not run. And on any Amazon-branded device (Kindle, Fire TV, Echo), the ACCC’s separate Federal Court action over Prime Video subscription contract terms, filed 29 June, sits in the background. Amazon has not yet filed its defence in that matter.

Coles Petbarn Talks: $4B Test of the New Merger Regime

The West Australian confirmed on 7 July that Coles Group is in talks to acquire Petstock Group, the parent company of pet retail chains Petbarn and City Farmers, in a deal reportedly valued at up to $4 billion (The West Australian, 7 July 2026). If the talks convert to a binding transaction it will be the largest test yet of the new mandatory merger notification regime that took effect 1 July. Any acquisition above the defined thresholds must now be notified to the ACCC in advance and cannot complete until cleared.

Consumer competition lawyers writing for Lawyerly noted that a Coles-Petstock combination raises the same category concentration questions the ACCC applied to the Kalgoorlie IGA block six days earlier: what happens to the independent pet-retail base if the biggest grocery chain also controls the biggest specialty pet chain (Lawyerly, 7 July 2026)? For Australian pet-owning households the immediate read is that Petbarn and City Farmers stores continue to trade independently under existing management while the ACCC reviews any notification that lands. The broader read is that the pattern is now consistent: the regulator is genuinely reviewing rather than rubber-stamping, and the two supermarket majors are being told to justify each new consolidation on its own competition merits.

Consumer Confidence Up, Buying Intentions Down, Rates On Hold

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 3.1 points to 75.9 in the final week of June, its highest reading since early March (Ragtrader, 2 July 2026). But confidence is still 10.5 points lower than a year ago, and net buying intentions for major household items actually fell 3 percentage points, with just 19 per cent of respondents saying now is a good time to buy against 43 per cent saying now is a bad time. Households are feeling a bit less awful but are still holding back on the big-ticket items that furniture, appliance and electronics retailers depend on.

The rates side backs that up. The Reserve Bank does not meet in July, so the next cash rate decision is now scheduled for 11 August (Your Property Guide, 3 July 2026). The national preliminary auction clearance rate has slipped to 47.4 per cent, the weakest reading since April 2020, on scheduled auction volumes below 1,500 as winter deepens. Add the ACCC fining Lactalis Australia $59,400 for labelling its Valley WA and Golden North products as fresh milk when they contained significant powdered milk content (ABC News, 2 July 2026), and David Jones appointing its first female CEO in the department store’s 188-year history, and the picture that emerges is a household economy where the regulatory floor is being firmed up faster than the retail top-line is recovering. Which is exactly why the winter markdowns at today’s Top 6 stores are pricing to move stock, not to defend margin.

Five Fresh Australian Stores To Test Against Prime Day

Five stores. Five categories. All fresh names today (none carried over from Wednesday’s Top 6), audited at dawn on Thursday.

1Today’s Top
DiscountSussanWomen's FashionUp to 60 per cent off Sussan’s On Sale range: knitwear, tops, dresses, denim and outerwear from the Australian-owned womenswear label with 130-plus stores nationwide since 1939, free returns and click-and-collect.60%OFF2Lounge LoversFurniture & HomewaresUp to 55 per cent off Lounge Lovers’ Sale: sofas, dining, bedroom, rugs and decor from the Australian-owned furniture brand with fast metro delivery, free assembly options and interest-free finance available.55%OFF3NovoFootwearUp to 50 per cent off Novo’s Sale: boots, heels, sneakers, flats and bags from the Melbourne-founded footwear label since 1986, with 100-plus stores nationally and free returns on unworn styles.50%OFF4Johnny BiggMen's FashionUp to 50 per cent off Johnny Bigg’s Sale: bigger-sizes shirts, chinos, jeans, knits and outerwear from the Australian-founded menswear label built specifically for larger sizes, with 40-plus AU stores and free exchanges.50%OFF5BooktopiaBooks & MediaUp to 50 per cent off Booktopia’s Bargains: fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, kids and school reading from Australia’s largest online bookstore, with same-day dispatch on in-stock titles from a Sydney warehouse.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, a handful of other Australian-owned retailers are running strong cuts mid-week. Mr Toys Toyworld (today’s Top 6 ticker pick) has 50 per cent off LEGO, dolls, outdoor toys and craft in its winter school-holiday sale from the Australian-owned toy specialist. Best & Less is running clearance across kids, women’s and men’s apparel from the Australian family-fashion chain with 200-plus stores. Sportitude has up to 50 per cent off sports footwear and apparel from the Adelaide-based Australian retailer. OPSM‘s Special Offers include buy-one-get-one on prescription glasses from the Australian eyewear network. Bob Jane T-Mart is running tyre and battery promotions from the Australian-founded chain with 130-plus stores. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled.

Our Take

The through-line across today’s five stories is one word: verification. The ACCC is verifying that debt collection notices actually match the legal authority claimed. The Federal Court has just verified that a Down Down ticket does not necessarily mean a sustained price cut. Independent analysts have verified that fewer than one in eight Prime Day discounts hit a genuine low. The new merger regime is verifying that regional supermarket acquisitions do not quietly hollow out local competition. And the Lactalis fine has verified that the word “fresh” on a milk label has to mean fresh. Every one of those movements pushes the same request onto the household budget: check the claim, not just the sticker.

That is exactly why It’s On Sale exists. 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, none of them Temu, Shein, AliExpress, Wish or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand. The AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “womens knitwear under 80” or “sofa on sale under 2000”). Browse Today’s Sales on the Thursday of the second week of the new financial year, with the regulator on your side more than usual.

It’s On Sale Australia’s home for genuine retail deals. Browse today’s featured stores at itsonsale.com.au.