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.

Neil Fairhead

CEO, It’s On Sale

inConnect

Wednesday morning, and the ACCC has begun to swing the new tools handed to it a week ago. In Kalgoorlie, the regulator formally blocked Coles from acquiring a suburban IGA in the first live application of the new merger regime, a signal that grocery consolidation across regional Australia is now genuinely constrained. In the Federal Court, the ACCC has filed proceedings against Amazon Australia over its Prime Video ad rollout, alleging more than one million subscribers were misled into a $2.99 per month ad-free upsell between November 2023 and August 2025. Meanwhile Accent Group has told shareholders to reject a Frasers takeover bid, FTI Consulting is warning that the current wave of retail insolvencies is still building, and federal parliament has passed the Unfair Trading Practices Bill, banning subscription traps and drip pricing from 1 July 2027. Five fresh Australian stores today, none of them carried over from Monday.

ACCC Blocks Coles Kalgoorlie: New Merger Regime Bites

The ACCC has formally blocked Coles Group from acquiring an IGA-branded supermarket in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, the first substantive decision under the new mandatory merger notification regime that came into effect on 1 July 2026 (Lawyerly, 7 July 2026). Under the regime, any acquisition above defined thresholds must now be notified to the ACCC in advance and cannot complete until cleared, replacing the old voluntary regime that let the majors quietly roll up regional independents. Coles had argued the Kalgoorlie site was a routine store-level acquisition, but the ACCC held that consolidating a metropolitan-scale major with the local IGA in a remote market of roughly 30,000 residents would materially reduce competition for households with no realistic weekly alternative (Mirage News, 2 July 2026).

The precedent is significant. The West Australian noted that the decision is the first application anywhere in Australia of the new regime, and consumer advocacy groups have flagged that the ruling puts every other regional acquisition Coles or Woolworths might contemplate over the next twelve months under a much brighter spotlight (The West Australian, 3 July 2026). For households in regional Australia the practical read is that independent supermarkets, IGA-branded and otherwise, are now materially more likely to remain independent, and that the two majors will need to justify any regional expansion on public-benefit grounds before completion. For weekly shoppers everywhere it reinforces the pattern that emerged with the excessive pricing prohibition six days earlier: the era of unilateral supermarket action is ending, and the promotional cycles that come next will lean harder on genuine discounts rather than reference-price theatre.

Amazon Faces Federal Court Over Prime Video Ad Rollout

The ACCC has filed Federal Court proceedings against Amazon Australia Services, alleging misleading conduct and unfair contract terms in relation to the November 2023 Prime Video ad-tier rollout (Variety Australia, 1 July 2026). The proceedings, lodged on 29 June, cover an estimated one million-plus Australian Prime subscribers who between November 2023 and August 2025 either had advertising inserted into previously ad-free Prime Video content or were pushed to a $2.99 per month ad-free upsell. The ACCC alleges Amazon changed the terms of the subscription contract unilaterally, without adequate disclosure or the option to cancel without penalty, and that its communications to affected subscribers were misleading about their options (Tribune India, 1 July 2026).

The Deccan Herald summary put it starkly: the ACCC is asking the Federal Court to declare the changed subscription terms unfair under the Australian Consumer Law, seeking penalties and consumer redress that could total in the tens of millions of dollars (Deccan Herald, 1 July 2026). This is the same pattern as the earlier US Federal Trade Commission Prime cancellation settlement, but here the alleged conduct is a live unilateral variation of a paid subscription rather than a signup dark pattern. Household read: keep every confirmation email for any streaming, telco, insurance or software subscription; screenshot the pricing page the day you sign up; and prefer Australian-owned services where possible because the local regulator now has an active proceeding on the record. If you are one of the more than one million Prime subscribers who paid the $2.99 uplift, keep the receipts, the case may yet produce a redress mechanism.

Accent Group Rejects Frasers Takeover: Panel Application Filed

Accent Group, the ASX-listed Australian footwear operator behind Platypus, Skechers, Hype DC, The Athletes Foot and Stylerunner, has doubled down on its rejection of a takeover approach from UK-listed Frasers Group, controlled by British retail billionaire Mike Ashley (FashionUnited, 1 July 2026). Accent’s board reaffirmed on 7 July that the current Frasers proposal materially undervalues the business and does not reflect the growth pipeline across the Accent portfolio, and confirmed it has filed a Takeovers Panel application seeking orders to prevent Frasers from proceeding with any coercive tactics during the current market window (TipRanks, 7 July 2026).

The context is that Frasers has been quietly accumulating stakes in Australian retail names and simultaneously divesting non-core European businesses, including the recently announced Sports Direct Malaysia sale (Ragtrader, 3 July 2026). For Australian shoppers the immediate read is that the more than 550 Accent-owned stores across Platypus, Skechers, Hype DC and The Athletes Foot are all continuing to trade independently at full capacity, and the current 50 per cent off winter sale at Platypus (item 4 in today’s Top 5) is running on Accent’s own terms rather than any distressed pricing. The bigger read is about ownership: the boardroom argument this week is over who gets to control an Australian-founded, ASX-listed retailer with 130-plus stores of footwear inventory and a customer base squarely inside the Australian shopping economy.

Retail Insolvency Wave: 1,000 More To Come, FTI Warns

FTI Consulting has published a fresh forecast warning that the current wave of Australian retail insolvencies is still building, with an estimated 1,000 retail insolvencies expected across FY26 versus 319 recorded in FY22 (Ragtrader, 2 July 2026). The list of names already in administration or receivership across the past twelve months includes Betts (134-year-old Perth footwear icon), Stax, GeedUp, Glue Store, Lincraft, SurfStitch, Ally Fashion, Jeanswest, Wittner and Mosaic Brands (owner of Millers, Rivers, Katies, Noni B and Autograph). FTI’s read is that persistent margin compression, weak discretionary spending in fashion and homewares, and refinancing pressure as pandemic-era debt facilities roll off are combining to force a structural reset of the mid-tier retail base.

The practical read for Australian shoppers is twofold. First, gift cards and store credits at any mid-tier fashion or homewares retailer should be redeemed rather than held, because voluntary administration can freeze balances overnight. Second, the ranges most likely to see genuine markdowns over the next quarter are winter clearance in fashion and mid-price furniture and homewares, exactly the categories where Domayne, Dissh and GAZMAN in today’s Top 6 are pricing hard. The market rebalance is real, and it is happening at the store shelf as much as in the courts.

Unfair Trading Bill Passed: Subscription Traps Banned

Federal parliament passed the Unfair Trading Practices Bill on 2 July, delivering on the reform package flagged by Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh earlier in the year (Andrew Leigh MP, 2 July 2026). The legislation bans a defined list of unfair trading practices under the Australian Consumer Law, including subscription traps (making it easier to sign up than to cancel), drip pricing (adding mandatory fees only at checkout), and manipulative use of dark patterns in online purchase flows. The full ban comes into force from 1 July 2027, giving retailers and platforms twelve months to redesign their signup, checkout and cancellation systems.

Alongside the bill, the Reserve Bank of Australia held the cash rate at 4.35 per cent at its 8 July meeting, maintaining a hawkish bias with the next meeting scheduled for August (RateSniffers, 8 July 2026). ABS data covering May showed household spending bounced back after a soft April, and The West Australian noted that the retail sector is entering the second half of 2026 with steadier demand than a year ago (The West Australian, 6 July 2026). The combined read: on the consumer protection front, the rules are tightening in the shopper’s favour; on rates, the tightening cycle is holding rather than easing, which continues to squeeze big-ticket discretionary spend and gives the promotional pressure across today’s Top 6 categories real underlying force.

Five Fresh Australian Stores To Take On The New Retail Reality

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

1Today’s Top
DiscountJB HiFiElectronicsUp to 50 per cent off JB HiFi’s This Week’s Hottest Deals: laptops, TVs, headphones, gaming, small appliances and mobile from the ASX-listed Australian electronics retailer with 300+ stores nationwide, price beat guarantee and next-day metro delivery.50%OFF2DomayneFurniture & HomewaresUp to 50 per cent off Domayne’s Hot Deals: sofas, beds, dining, homewares and major appliances from the Australian-owned Harvey Norman Group brand, with EOFY carryover pricing, interest-free finance and free metro delivery on qualifying orders.50%OFF3DisshWomen's FashionUp to 50 per cent off Dissh’s Sale: tailoring, dresses, knits, denim and outerwear from the Brisbane-founded contemporary womenswear label with modern minimalist styling and free returns, plus their signature winter capsule reduced.50%OFF4Platypus ShoesFootwear & SneakersUp to 50 per cent off Platypus Shoes’ Sale: sneakers, casual footwear and boots from Nike, Adidas, Converse, Puma, New Balance and Vans at the Accent Group-owned Australian sneaker specialist with 130+ stores and click-and-collect in-store.50%OFF5Chemist WarehouseBeauty & HealthUp to 50 per cent off Chemist Warehouse’s Clearance: skincare, fragrance, vitamins, haircare and personal care from the Australian-owned pharmacy giant with 600+ stores nationwide and $10 flat shipping under $99.50%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 stores are running strong cuts mid-week. GAZMAN (the Top 6 ticker pick) has 50 per cent off menswear shirts, chinos, knitwear and outerwear from the Australian-founded menswear brand with 40-plus standalone stores nationwide. Domayne‘s sister brand Harvey Norman is running EOFY carryover Hot Offers across furniture, bedding and appliances from the Australian-founded ASX-listed group. Dissh‘s winter capsule sits at 50 per cent off from the Brisbane womenswear label. Platypus Shoes is holding 50 per cent off sneakers from the Accent Group specialist. Chemist Warehouse’s Clearance is running deep on skincare and fragrance from the Australian-owned pharmacy leader. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled and worth a scan.

Our Take

The through-line across today’s five stories is the same one that has been building since the start of the new financial year: the regulator is now materially closer to the household than to the multinational. The ACCC has blocked its first grocery acquisition under a merger regime that is one week old. It has filed Federal Court proceedings against Amazon over Prime Video conduct that touched more than a million Australian subscribers. The Unfair Trading Practices Bill has passed, so subscription traps and drip pricing are legally on notice from July next year. Accent Group is fighting off a UK takeover attempt with a Takeovers Panel application. And FTI Consulting is warning that another 700-plus retail insolvencies are still to work through the system, which is exactly why the winter markdowns at today’s Top 6 stores are running deeper than usual for a Wednesday in July. Every one of those movements shifts a small amount of pricing power, product depth or after-sale protection back toward the household budget.

The shoppable side of It’s On Sale is built for that decision. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned and locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. Our AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “womens knitwear under 80” or “sneakers on sale mens”). You will never find Temu, Shein, AliExpress or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand here. Browse Today’s Sales on the second Wednesday of the new financial year.

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 balance of power between Australia’s largest retailers and the households that keep them profitable has just shifted materially. The ACCC’s new excessive pricing prohibition is six days live, with penalties for Coles and Woolworths of up to the greater of $10 million, three times the benefit, or 10 per cent of annual turnover. In Perth, 134-year-old footwear icon Betts has entered voluntary administration and will close 20 of its 35 stores, with 120,000 pairs of shoes, bags and accessories going on clearance from Friday. The fuel excise cut is now live at 16 cents a litre, saving households roughly $8 to $10 per tank, but only through 2 August. Amazon’s Federal Court case with the ACCC over Prime Video contract changes is still running alongside a fresh US$2.25 million FTC settlement. And retail spending has just come in 5.8 per cent higher year on year for May. The winter shopping calendar has a new tempo, and today’s five stores respond to it.

ACCC Turns On Coles and Woolies: Price Watchdog Now Live

The federal government’s excessive pricing prohibition for Coles Group and Woolworths Group came into force on 1 July, giving the ACCC direct authority to prosecute either supermarket for pricing conduct deemed excessive under the new regime (Retail Insight Network, 29 June 2026). The threshold covers any grocery retailer with more than $30 billion in annual revenue, which in Australia is only Coles and Woolworths. Penalties for a proven contravention are the greater of $10 million per contravention, three times the benefit gained, or 10 per cent of the offender’s annual Australian turnover (The Market Online, 29 June 2026). The Food and Grocery Code is also now mandatory rather than voluntary, and the ACCC has been allocated more than $30 million in additional funding to police it (SBS News, 30 June 2026).

The mechanics matter for households. RMIT economist Peter Sarno points out that the new regime targets pricing that is materially higher than could be justified in a competitive market, and that the ACCC now has both the mandate and the resourcing to build cases from supermarket price data (RMIT, 29 June 2026). ABC AM’s coverage on 1 July confirmed that the government has also expanded the ACCC’s grocery price monitoring role in parallel, so shelf-price accuracy, unit pricing and promotional integrity are now under continuous surveillance (ABC AM, 1 July 2026). The practical read for shoppers is that overtly discounted specials are more likely to be genuine, and that the promotional cycles across the two majors will be leaning heavier on real price cuts rather than reference-price theatre. If you have been holding off on a switch across your weekly grocery shop, the next twelve weeks are the moment to test whether the promised discipline is real.

Betts Shuts 20 Stores: 120,000 Pairs on Clearance Friday

Perth-founded footwear icon Betts, which has been trading continuously since 1892, has entered voluntary administration and will close 20 of its 35 Australian stores in the coming weeks (PerthNow, 2 July 2026). Administrators Pitcher Partners were appointed on 2 July and confirmed that seven of the closures are in Western Australia, including the flagship Hay Street Mall store in the Perth CBD, along with Cockburn Gateway, Mandurah Forum, Watertown Perth, DFO Perth Airport, Whitford City and one of the two Joondalup locations. A further 13 stores will close across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia. The remaining 15 stores will continue trading, and the brand’s online business (bettsshoes.com.au) will be the primary growth channel going forward (ABC News, 2 July 2026).

For the Australian shopper the practical read is a large, time-limited clearance event. Pitcher Partners has confirmed that a combined 120,000 pairs of shoes, bags and accessories will be on clearance across the 20 closing stores from Friday 3 July, with markdowns escalating as the administration process progresses. Household priorities to consider: school shoes for the July holidays, winter boots for southern states, and any wide-fit or comfort ranges that Betts has historically stocked stronger than the national chains. If you shop at any of the 20 closing locations, it is worth a Friday-morning visit before the best sizing goes. The 15 continuing stores will absorb the loss inventory over the following six weeks, so remote and regional shoppers will likely see the clearance run online through mid-August as well.

Fuel Excise Halved: Live Until 2 August Only

The federal government’s temporary fuel excise reduction from 32 cents per litre to 16 cents per litre came into force on 1 July and runs through to 2 August 2026, with the ACCC monitoring pump prices at over 800 retail sites to ensure the reduction is passed on to motorists (Supermarket News, 29 June 2026). For a family with two cars and a combined weekly refuel of around 100 litres, the saving is roughly $16 per week, or $65 over the month the cut is live. Households in regional Australia where fuel prices sit higher on average will see a proportionally larger saving on total motoring cost (The West Australian, 29 June 2026).

The hard deadline is Sunday 2 August, at which point the excise reverts to 32 cents per litre. The ACCC has publicly warned retailers against front-loading price rises immediately after the cut ends, and consumer groups have flagged this window as an opportunity for households to catch up on any deferred driving-heavy tasks. Practical suggestions for the four weeks: complete the July school holiday road-trip, fill the second car and any spare jerry cans on the final Sunday, and time the servicing that involves a long drive to a specialist workshop while the pump price is meaningfully lower. The saving is real but time-bound, and there is no signal from Treasury that the reduction will be extended.

Amazon: ACCC Case Continues, FTC Settlement Paid

Amazon has agreed to a US$2.25 million settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission over its Prime signup and cancellation dark patterns, announced on 30 June (Yahoo Finance, 30 June 2026). The settlement covers conduct between April 2019 and August 2025 that made Prime cancellation deliberately obscure, with the FTC finding that Amazon designed the flow to minimise customer awareness of the cancel option. Separately, the ACCC’s Federal Court proceeding against Amazon Australia over Prime Video contract changes is continuing, with the regulator alleging that Amazon unilaterally altered subscription terms for more than one million Australian Prime members between November 2023 and August 2025, moving customers to a $2.99 per month ad-free upsell without adequate consent (ABC News, 30 June 2026). Regional coverage in The News International summarised the case as the ACCC’s largest unilateral-contract-change proceeding to date (The News International, 1 July 2026).

The read for Australian households is unchanged from last week: exercise real caution with any long-term subscription where the seller retains the right to unilaterally alter terms mid-contract. Keep the confirmation email for every subscription change, and prefer Australian-owned retailers where the Australian Consumer Law applies cleanly and the local regulator has active enforcement teeth. For everyday shopping, the Australian-owned alternatives across today’s Top 6 sit on much stronger ground on both consumer guarantees and returns terms.

Retail Spending Up 5.8 Per Cent, Wage Rises Live

Australian retail spending grew 5.8 per cent year on year in May 2026, the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirmed at the end of June, with cost-of-living pressures driving households toward essentials and value categories rather than curbing overall spending (Retail Asia, 30 June 2026). The categories carrying most of the growth were supermarkets and food, health services and beauty, and household appliances, while discretionary apparel and footwear stayed roughly flat. Small-business retailers across the country also confirmed a firmer trading pattern than a year ago, with local specialty stores flagging a lift on winter and school-holiday categories.

The July round of cost-of-living changes reinforces the picture. The national minimum wage rose 3.75 per cent from 1 July to $26.44 per hour ($1004.72 per 38-hour week), lifting take-home pay for around 2.9 million workers on award rates (The Guardian, 30 June 2026). Payday superannuation is also live, meaning employers must now pay super contributions within seven business days of each payday rather than on the old quarterly cycle (AreaSearch, 30 June 2026). Parental Leave Pay has been extended to 24 weeks and now attracts superannuation. The combined effect for the average household is a small but real lift in weekly income at exactly the same moment retailers step into their post-EOFY winter push, which is why the promotional pressure on shelf pricing across today’s Top 6 categories is running heavier than usual for early July.

Five Fresh Australian Stores To Take On The New Retail Reality

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

1Today’s Top
DiscountRebel SportSport & FitnessUp to 60 per cent off Rebel Sport’s Sale hub: running shoes, cross-trainers, football boots, gym apparel, weights, bikes and camping gear from the ASX-listed Super Retail Group’s flagship Australian sports specialist, with over 400 stores nationwide and click and collect in one hour.60%OFF2Modern FurnitureFurnitureUp to 60 per cent off Modern Furniture’s On Sale collection: sofas, dining, bedroom, office and outdoor pieces from the Australian-owned Melbourne-based furniture retailer, with EOFY clearance rolling into July and free Sydney and Melbourne metro delivery on select ranges.60%OFF3SportsgirlWomen's FashionUp to 50 per cent off Sportsgirl’s Sale: winter knits, denim, dresses, coats, boots and accessories from the Australian-owned Melbourne-founded fashion brand (part of the Sussan Group), with online exclusive extra cuts and free returns in-store.50%OFF4Culture KingsStreetwear & SneakersUp to 50 per cent off Culture Kings’ Sale: streetwear, sneakers, caps, jerseys and hoodies from the Aussie streetwear icon (part of the US-listed A.K.A. Brands but AU-headquartered in the Gold Coast), with new drops from Nike, Adidas, Puma and homegrown labels.50%OFF5Bras N ThingsLingerieUp to 50 per cent off Bras N Things’ Sale: bras, briefs, lingerie, sleepwear and shapewear from the Australian-owned Sydney-founded intimate apparel specialist (part of ASX-listed Hanes Australia), with online-only markdowns and buy three save more bundles.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, another handful of Australian-owned stores are running strong cuts to kick off the new financial year. YD (the Top 6 ticker pick) is holding menswear suits, shirts, chinos and knitwear up to 50 per cent off from the Australian menswear specialist under Retail Apparel Group. Rebel Sport has EOFY runover cuts up to 60 per cent across running, football and gym gear from the Super Retail Group flagship. Culture Kings‘ Sale sits with 50 per cent off streetwear and sneakers from the Gold Coast-founded streetwear icon. Bras N Things has 50 per cent off lingerie, sleepwear and shapewear from the Hanes Australia intimates specialist. Modern Furniture‘s On Sale holds 60 per cent off sofas, dining and beds from the Melbourne-based furniture retailer. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled and worth a scan.

Our Take

The through-line across today’s five stories is that a genuine rebalance is underway. The ACCC has the mandate and the money to take Coles and Woolworths to court over pricing conduct that would have been untouchable a year ago. A 134-year-old Perth footwear icon has been forced to shrink, and 120,000 pairs of shoes are about to hit clearance because the market discipline has arrived. Motorists are paying half the excise for four weeks, and the ACCC is watching the pumps. Amazon is paying penalties on two continents. And retail spending is running 5.8 per cent higher year on year on the back of a minimum wage rise and payday super. Every one of those movements shifts a small amount of pricing power, product depth or after-sale protection back toward the household budget. Monday morning is a good time to notice that.

The shoppable side of It’s On Sale is built for that decision. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned and locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. Our AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “kids school shoes under 40” or “winter coat womens on sale”). You will never find Temu, Shein, AliExpress or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand here. Browse Today’s Sales on day six of the new financial year.

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 retail battle for Australian household budgets has a new front. Metcash has relaunched its Big Family Big Prizes campaign across more than 3,200 independent stores under the IGA, IGA Local Grocer, Foodland and Mitre 10 banners, a direct fightback against the Coles and Woolworths duopoly. Card surcharges will be banned on debit and credit transactions from 1 October, freeing shoppers from a $960 million annual tax on plastic. In Kalgoorlie, the ACCC has blocked a Coles airport-adjacent second store and the community has publicly cheered the decision. Amazon has paid a US$2.25 million FTC settlement while the ACCC’s Federal Court case over Prime Video contract changes rolls on. And at David Jones, incoming chief executive Erica Berchtold enters week one with a $95 million loss on the P&L and a new Hilco lending facility on the balance sheet. It is a busy Sunday, but every headline lands the same way: better options for the Australian shopper.

IGA Fires Back: Metcash Relaunches Big Family Big Prizes

Metcash has relaunched its Big Family Big Prizes consumer promotion across more than 3,200 independent Australian stores from 1 July, spanning IGA, IGA Local Grocer, Foodland and Mitre 10 banners nationally (Retail World Magazine, 30 June 2026). The mechanics are straightforward for shoppers: any purchase at a participating store enters the customer into weekly draws for cash prize pools running through the campaign period, with in-store point-of-sale collateral and shopper marketing behind the relaunch. The campaign lands in the same week Metcash confirmed the appointment of former Unilever ANZ chief executive Nicky Sparshott to the Metcash board as a non-executive director, adding grocery marketing depth at the top level of Australia’s largest independent grocery wholesaler.

The commercial context is important. Metcash is the wholesale supplier and marketing engine behind the country’s largest genuinely independent grocery network, and Big Family Big Prizes is one of the few national brand-marketing pushes in Australian grocery that is not owned by Coles Group or Woolworths. The relaunch also lands ahead of the federal government’s expanded ACCC grocery pricing surveillance role, which took effect on 1 July and gives the regulator sharper teeth on shelf-price accuracy, unit-pricing compliance and promotional-price integrity. Independent retailers are the direct beneficiaries of any tightening of the duopoly’s promotional discipline, and Metcash’s timing is deliberate.

For Australian households the practical read is a real prompt to add an IGA visit to the weekly shop, particularly for households outside metropolitan Coles and Woolworths corridors. Big Family Big Prizes overlays on top of the IGA Rewards program and any store-level specials, which means the offer stacks. If you have not walked into an IGA, Foodland or an IGA Local Grocer in the last twelve months, the fresh produce, meat and specialty ranges have quietly rebuilt. Sunday afternoon is a reasonable time to test it.

Card Surcharge Ban Locks In For 1 October

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s final report on the retail payments system, published at the end of March, confirmed that surcharges on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa transactions (debit, prepaid and credit) will be banned from 1 October 2026 (NEWS WIRE, 28 June 2026). The Treasurer’s office has confirmed the RBA’s proposed timeline, and the industry-facing implementation guidance to acquirers and merchant service providers has already been issued. The practical effect for a household paying by tap or insert at a cafe, a hair salon, a taxi rank or a corner store is that the 1 to 2 per cent surcharge that has quietly been added to millions of transactions each day disappears from the receipt.

The Australian Retailers Association and the Council of Small Business Australia have both flagged that merchants will need to renegotiate acquiring fees with their banks and payment providers, and some are expected to bake the cost back into a broader margin recalibration. That is a real risk for prices on the shelf, and the ACCC has signalled it will watch for any coordinated price adjustment in the six months either side of the ban. Consumer Action Law Centre welcomed the change and noted that surcharging has functioned as a regressive tax on households without cash alternatives, particularly younger shoppers, renters and international students. The net position for the average Australian is a genuine improvement on out-of-pocket costs at the checkout, and the compounding annual saving for a household that spends $60,000 a year on cards is meaningful.

Kalgoorlie Backs ACCC After Coles Store Blocked

The community of Kalgoorlie-Boulder has publicly thrown its support behind the ACCC’s decision to reject a proposed second Coles supermarket on the site adjacent to the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport, with residents citing concerns about small-business competition and long-term local pricing (ABC News, 3 July 2026). The decision, handed down earlier in the week, was the first time the ACCC has formally rejected a supermarket store proposal under the expanded review process that took effect this year (ABC News, 1 July 2026). Coles has said it is disappointed with the outcome and is reviewing its options, but has not indicated any intention to appeal at this stage.

The Kalgoorlie outcome sets a real precedent. The ACCC’s expanded remit on grocery competition, combined with the price surveillance role that took effect on 1 July, gives the regulator broader tools than it has had at any point since the current supermarket duopoly settled into place two decades ago. For the Australian shopper, the practical consequence over the next twelve months is likely to be more transparent shelf pricing, faster action on unit-price errors and a stronger footing for independent retailers to secure planning approvals in regional catchments. The Kalgoorlie community’s public backing of the ACCC decision matters because it is a signal that the appetite for a rebalance is real, and not confined to the capital cities.

Amazon Pays FTC Settlement, ACCC Case Continues

Amazon has agreed to a US$2.25 million settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission over its Prime signup and cancellation flow (the so-called dark-pattern case), announced on 30 June (Yahoo Finance, 30 June 2026). Separately, the ACCC’s Federal Court proceeding against Amazon Australia over Prime Video contract changes is continuing, with the regulator alleging that Amazon unilaterally altered subscription terms for more than one million Australian Prime members between November 2023 and August 2025, moving customers to a $2.99 per month ad-free upsell without adequate consent (ABC News, 30 June 2026). Lawyerly’s court filing summary sets out the specific consumer-law breaches the ACCC is pursuing (Lawyerly, 30 June 2026).

The read for Australian households is unchanged from earlier in the week: exercise real caution with any long-term subscription commitment where the seller retains the right to unilaterally alter terms mid-contract. Read the fine print on renewal, retain the confirmation email for every subscription change, and prefer Australian-owned retailers where the Australian Consumer Law applies cleanly and the local regulator has active enforcement teeth. For everyday shopping, the Australian-owned alternatives across today’s Top 6 sit on much stronger ground on both consumer guarantees and returns terms.

Berchtold’s First Week At David Jones: $95M Loss And A New Playbook

Erica Berchtold has stepped into the David Jones chief executive role in the same week the department store’s parent Anchorage Capital confirmed a full-year loss of $95 million and an 8.7 per cent decline in sales to $2 billion (FashionNetwork.com, 28 June 2026). The company has also secured a new three-year asset-backed lending facility with Hilco Global, which provides the working-capital headroom to fund the Inspire 30 strategic plan Berchtold will oversee. Inspire 30 is understood to sharpen the David Jones proposition around premium fashion, beauty and gifting, and to accelerate the store-refresh programme in flagship Sydney and Melbourne locations.

For the David Jones shopper the near-term signal is EOFY-and-into-July clearance discipline, followed by a tighter buy on premium womenswear, beauty exclusives and food hall as the Berchtold era’s own product mix takes hold from spring. The loyalty programme (David Jones Rewards) is likely to see refinement inside the first hundred days. If you shop David Jones on rewards or holiday-gifting cycles, the next quarter is genuinely the most interesting the store has had since Anchorage took over.

Five Fresh Australian Stores To Reset The Winter Wardrobe

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

1Today’s Top
DiscountTemple & WebsterFurniture & HomewaresUp to 70 per cent off Temple & Webster’s Sale Furniture: sofas, dining tables, bed frames, storage, outdoor furniture and homewares from the ASX-listed Sydney-headquartered Australian online furniture retailer, with EOFY clearance rolling into July across thousands of items and free shipping on orders over $100.70%OFF2KathmanduOutdoor & AdventureUp to 60 per cent off Kathmandu’s Outlet: down jackets, waterproof shells, hiking boots, thermal base layers, packs and travel gear from the Australasian outdoor brand (part of ASX-listed KMD Brands), covering the winter transition and shoulder season, with click and collect from stores across the country.60%OFF3MyerDepartment StoreUp to 50 per cent off Myer’s Offers hub: womenswear, menswear, kidswear, homewares, beauty, cosmetics and small appliances from the ASX-listed Australian department store, with the Winter Wardrobe sale running alongside brand-partner promotions and Myer One member exclusives.50%OFF4Cotton OnFashionUp to 50 per cent off Cotton On’s womens sale: winter tees, hoodies, denim, dresses, jackets and basics from the Geelong-founded Australian-owned global fashion group, with online exclusive markdowns and free shipping thresholds through the Cotton On Perks membership.50%OFF5BondsUnderwear & BasicsUp to 50 per cent off Bonds’ sale: winter warmers, everyday underwear, socks, sleepwear, activewear and kids essentials from the Aussie icon owned by ASX-listed Hanes Australia, with online-only cuts across the Zippy, Chesty and Original ranges.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, another handful of Australian-owned stores are running strong cuts this weekend. Big Bedding (the Top 6 ticker pick) is holding quilts, sheet sets and pillows up to 50 per cent off from the Australian bedding specialist. David Jones has EOFY discounts up to 50 per cent live for Erica Berchtold’s first weekend at the helm, with an extra 20 per cent off clearance. Target Australia‘s Clearance continues with strong toys and kidswear cuts under the Wesfarmers-owned discount department chain. Koala‘s clearance is holding on mattresses, sofas and bed frames from the Australian-founded direct-to-consumer bedding brand. Domayne‘s Hot Deals rolls into July from the Harvey Norman Group Australian furniture retailer. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled and worth a scan.

Our Take

The through-line across today’s five stories is that Australian shoppers are picking up leverage. The independent grocery network is back on the offensive with a $6 million national campaign. Card surcharges disappear from every receipt in 88 days. The competition regulator has just used its new grocery powers to block a Coles store in a regional community that publicly backed the decision. Amazon is paying penalties on two continents. And at David Jones, an Australian retail leader with an e-commerce brain has just taken the top job. Every one of those movements shifts a small amount of pricing power, product depth or after-sale protection back toward the household budget. Sunday afternoon is a good time to notice that.

The shoppable side of It’s On Sale is built for that decision. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned and locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. Our AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “kids winter jacket under 50” or “quilt cover queen on sale”). You will never find Temu, Shein, AliExpress or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand here. Browse Today’s Sales on day five of the new year.

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 Australian retail wakes to a genuine changing of the guard. David Jones, the country’s oldest department store at 188 years, has named Erica Berchtold as its first female chief executive, replacing Scott Fyfe. Down the aisle, Coles has confirmed it is in talks to buy Greencross (owner of Petbarn and City Farmers) in a deal reported at close to $4 billion, its biggest strategic swing in more than a decade. At the other end of town, Accent Group’s board is urging shareholders to reject Frasers Group’s hostile 65 cents a share takeover bid. And Amazon has told 16,000 staff they are being cut loose. It is a lot for a Saturday, but the direction is unmistakeable: Australian retail leadership is being remade in real time, and payday super, live from Tuesday, now sits underneath all of it.

David Jones Names Its First Female CEO In 188 Years

Erica Berchtold has been appointed chief executive of David Jones, the first woman to hold the top job in the store’s 188 year history and the sixth chief executive since it was founded on George Street in Sydney in 1838 (Retail Show Australia). Berchtold replaces Scott Fyfe, who exits after a long stretch running the department store through the Woolworths South Africa era, the private equity carve-out and the transition to Anchorage Capital ownership. FashionNetwork’s Australia team framed the appointment as the culmination of a shortlist that had circulated inside the David Jones board for most of the second quarter (FashionNetwork.com).

Berchtold arrives with a resume that reads like a tour of Australian premium retail: former chief executive of The Iconic during its ownership under Global Fashion Group, prior senior roles at Country Road Group, and a stint at David Jones itself earlier in her career. The West Australian’s business desk positioned the move alongside the broader premium department store rebuild that Anchorage Capital has been running since it took the reins (The West Australian retail desk). Chair Bruce Rockowitz said in the appointment statement that Berchtold’s task is to sharpen the David Jones proposition against a rebuilt Myer, an aggressive premium-fashion pure-play from The Iconic, and a beauty and cosmetics category that is being fought over by MECCA, Sephora and Chemist Warehouse’s Ultra Beauty roll-out.

For the Australian shopper the read is optimistic. Berchtold’s history at The Iconic points to a leader who reads e-commerce data closely, moves quickly on product depth in womenswear and beauty, and is unafraid to trim under-performing categories. Expect David Jones’s beauty hall, its private-label womenswear line and its home category to see the sharpest early changes. Loyalty program mechanics (the reworked David Jones Rewards) are also likely to see refinement inside the first hundred days. If you shop David Jones regularly, the next six months will be the most interesting the store has had in a decade.

Coles Confirms Talks To Buy Petbarn Owner Greencross

Coles Group has confirmed it is in advanced discussions with US private equity firm TPG Capital to acquire Greencross, the Australian pet care platform that owns Petbarn, City Farmers and Greencross Vet Hospitals, in a deal Reuters reported at close to $4 billion (Reuters, 1 July 2026). Coles chief executive Leah Weckert said the talks are incomplete and that the outcome is not certain, but the confirmation alone was enough to send Coles shares 4.2 per cent lower on the day as the market digested the scale of a category diversification well outside the supermarket’s traditional beat.

Greencross runs more than 250 Petbarn and City Farmers stores across Australia and New Zealand, plus a national veterinary network. For Coles, the strategic logic is a defensive push into pet care, a category running at a decade of compounding growth as pet ownership in Australia sits at record highs and premium pet food and vet spend continues to outpace grocery inflation. It is also a fenced-off category where the two supermarket majors have historically had minimal presence, unlike toys, apparel or homewares where they have retreated. For shoppers who buy pet food and supplies, the near-term implication is a possible loyalty-program tie-in (FlyBuys reaching into Petbarn) if the deal proceeds, and heightened competitive pressure on independent pet retailers and PETstock (owned by Woolworths) through the second half of 2026.

Accent Group Rejects Frasers’ Hostile Takeover Bid

The board of Accent Group has urged shareholders to reject a hostile 65 cents per share off-market takeover bid from British billionaire Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, calling the offer “significantly inadequate” and undervaluing the Australian-listed footwear retailer (The West Australian). The bid opened on 30 June and runs to approximately 30 July 2026. Inside Retail’s coverage set out the board’s argument that the offer fails to account for the growth potential of the wholesale distribution business, the Skechers Australia partnership and the pipeline of new Nude Lucy stores (Inside Retail).

France-Epargne’s investor-facing summary emphasised that the Accent board’s rejection is unanimous and that the independent expert report accompanying the target’s statement placed a fair value materially above the 65 cents on offer (France-Epargne). Accent Group owns and operates The Athlete’s Foot, Platypus, Skechers Australia, Hype DC, Stylerunner, Nude Lucy and Glue Store, distributing footwear brands including Vans, Merrell and Timberland across Australia and New Zealand. For the Australian shopper, the immediate implication is unchanged: continue shopping the Accent brands and their sale ranges as normal. If Frasers were to ultimately succeed, the risk is a shift in inventory strategy toward the Sports Direct discount model, which could compress the premium positioning that stores like Platypus and Stylerunner currently occupy.

Amazon Cuts 16,000 Jobs Globally

Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy has confirmed the company is cutting approximately 16,000 corporate jobs globally, part of an ongoing efficiency drive that has now stretched across multiple rounds since 2023 (Fidelity syndication of the Reuters wire, 28 June 2026). The cuts land on top of the ACCC’s Federal Court proceedings over Prime Video contract changes filed in Australia earlier this week, and follow a US Federal Trade Commission settlement over the Prime signup and cancellation flow. For Australian employees the specific national breakdown has not been published, but the impacted teams sit across corporate, operations planning and devices.

The read for the Australian shopper is unchanged from Monday’s brief. Continue to be cautious with any long-term subscription commitment where the seller can unilaterally alter terms mid-contract, keep pressure on marketplace operators over transparent pricing and delivery representations, and prefer Australian-owned retailers where locally negotiated consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law apply cleanly. For pet supplies, fashion and beauty in particular, the alternative Australian retailers featured in today’s Top 6 are stronger picks on both service and returns terms.

Payday Super Kicks In: Retail Workers See Compulsory Super Weekly

From 1 July, payday super became mandatory across Australia. Employers must now remit compulsory superannuation contributions within seven business days of every payday, rather than the previous quarterly cadence (Lawpath compliance summary). Lander and Rogers’s employment team walked through the operational implications for retail employers, most of whom pay staff weekly or fortnightly (Lander and Rogers). The Guardian Australia’s Katy Gallagher framed payday super alongside the minimum wage rise and the paid parental leave extension as the three biggest 1 July shifts for Australian workers (The Guardian, 30 June 2026).

For retail workers, the practical benefit is significant. Prior to 1 July, an award-covered retail assistant on a weekly pay cycle could be owed up to 13 weeks of super contributions at any given time (all payable quarterly, and subject to the risk of unpaid super if the employer ran into cash-flow trouble). Under payday super, the money now lands in the employee’s fund within a week of each pay day, which materially reduces the risk of unpaid super and slightly increases lifetime compounding. Retail employers who paid quarterly are now paying weekly or fortnightly, which imposes a real cash-flow discipline on the sector but is now legally non-negotiable.

Five Fresh Australian Stores To Restock The Household

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

1Today’s Top
DiscountBest&LessKids FashionItem-level cuts up to 88 per cent off Best&Less’s Clearance rail: kids fashion, teen apparel, womenswear, homewares and underwear from the Sydney-headquartered Australian-owned value department chain, with verified item-level cuts like the Girls Tie Front Linen Vest at $1.98 down from $16 and click and collect from more than 190 stores across the country.88%OFF2MacpacOutdoorUp to 71 per cent off Macpac’s clearance range: technical outerwear, insulated jackets, kids adventure apparel, hiking pants, base layers and travel packs from the Australian-owned outdoor brand (part of ASX-listed Super Retail Group), with verified item-level cuts like the Kids’ Pack-It Jacket at $22.77 down from $79.99 and free delivery on orders over $100.71%OFF3Colette by Colette HaymanWomens FashionItem-level cuts up to 69 per cent off Colette by Colette Hayman’s Sale: crossbody bags, wallets, jewellery, sunglasses, hair accessories and travel pieces from the Brookvale-based Australian-owned accessories brand, with verified item-level cuts like the Denim Chrissy Wallet at $9 down from $29 and free shipping on orders over $80.69%OFF4Chemist WarehousePharmacyItem-level cuts up to 68 per cent off Chemist Warehouse’s Clearance: skincare, cosmetics, haircare, fragrance, vitamins, oral care and everyday health basics from the family-owned Australian pharmacy giant, with verified item-level cuts like the NYX Bridgerton Butter Gloss at $5 down from $15.99 and click and collect from more than 600 stores nationwide.68%OFF5RockwearSportUp to 64 per cent off Rockwear’s Sale: leggings, sports bras, activewear tops, tees, joggers and gym accessories from the Queensland-founded Australian-owned womens activewear brand, with verified item-level cuts like the Luxe Acid Wash Boyfriend Tee at $20 down from $54.99 and free shipping on orders over $100.64%OFF

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

Other Deals Worth A Look

Beyond the Top 5, another handful of Australian-owned stores are running strong cuts this weekend. JB Hi-Fi‘s This Weeks Hottest Deals is live with cuts up to 60 per cent, including the ECOVACS DEEBOT N50 Omni Robotic Vacuum at $799 down from $1,999 from the ASX-listed Australian electronics retailer (the Top 6 ticker pick today). David Jones is running EOFY discounts up to 50 per cent on the Erica Berchtold era’s first sale event, with an extra 20 per cent off clearance. Target Australia‘s Clearance is holding at 4,364 products live with a 20 per cent off toys and kidswear sub-promotion running under the Wesfarmers-owned discount department chain. Domayne‘s Hot Deals continues into July from the Australian furniture retailer. Koala‘s clearance is live on mattresses, sofas and bed frames from the Australian-founded direct-to-consumer bedding brand. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled and worth a scan.

Our Take

Four days into the new financial year the tone is set. The two biggest premium retail leadership stories of the calendar year (Berchtold at David Jones, and Coles making a $4 billion swing at Petbarn) landed within 72 hours of each other. Accent Group is defending itself against a hostile British bid. Amazon is cutting corporate staff globally on top of an active ACCC court case. Every one of those decisions gets made against the same backdrop of payday super rules, higher award wages, tighter grocery enforcement and the annual EOFY tax cut hitting employee bank balances. The Australian retail landscape on 4 July 2026 is genuinely different from what it was on 4 July 2025, and the pace of change is accelerating.

The shoppable side of It’s On Sale is built for that decision. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned and locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. Our AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “kids winter jacket under 50” or “womens leggings on sale size 12”). You will never find Temu, Shein, AliExpress or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand here. Browse Today’s Sales on day four of the new year.

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

Day three of the new financial year, and Friday brings a payday-sized cluster of shifts for the Australian shopper. The national minimum wage lifts 6 per cent to $26.44 an hour, taking the weekly floor above $1,000 for the first time, with modern-award rates up 4.75 per cent in step. The competition regulator has filed Federal Court proceedings against Amazon Australia over allegedly unfair Prime Video contract changes that stung more than a million local subscribers. The fuel excise has been cut in half to 16 cents a litre until 2 August, with the ACCC on the record telling service stations not to pocket the difference. And the penalty unit that anchors every fixed fine in the country ticks up from $330 to $364. The wallet is a little heavier this morning, and so are the consequences for anyone caught misbehaving in the retail market.

The Minimum Wage Just Crossed A Thousand Dollars A Week

From 1 July, the National Minimum Wage rose 6 per cent to $26.44 per hour, or $1,004.90 for a 38 hour week (Hall and Wilcox employment law summary). Modern award minimum wages lifted 4.75 per cent on the same day, flowing through to more than 2 million Australian workers on award-reliant pay (OAHI payroll compliance briefing). The Fair Work Commission Annual Wage Review 2025 to 26 decision, handed down in early June and taking effect from the first full pay period after 1 July, is the largest wage rise ordered by the Commission in six years.

Katy Gallagher, writing for The Guardian ahead of the changeover, framed the package alongside the day one lift in super to 12 per cent, paid parental leave stretching from 24 to 26 weeks with super attached, and payday super rules requiring employer contributions in step with wages from 2026-27 (Guardian Australia, 30 June 2026). Retail Trade sits among the highest-concentration award-reliant industries in the country, so the flow-on effect is largest in supermarket checkouts, apparel shops, homewares and quick service retail. Inside Retail’s Aleksandra Cvetanoska analysed the operating cost implications for retailers who employ under General Retail Industry Award pay bands (Inside Retail, 30 June 2026).

For the shopper the read is direct. The wage floor lift is a genuine consumer stimulus into July, particularly for lower-quintile households where retail spending is more elastic. Combined with the stage 3 tax cuts that landed a full financial year ago and continue to compound, disposable income is materially higher on 3 July than it was on 3 July 2025. The counter-signal is the modest but real cost pressure this puts on retailers who employ a lot of award-covered staff, which is most of the mid-tier fashion, homewares and hospitality chains. Watch pricing behaviour across those categories over July and August: some will absorb, some will pass through.

ACCC Files Federal Court Case Against Amazon Prime Video

The competition regulator has filed proceedings in the Federal Court against Amazon Commercial Services Pty Ltd over allegedly unfair contract terms used to introduce mid-contract advertising and price hikes on Prime Video (Nassim Khadem for ABC News, 30 June 2026). The regulator alleges more than one million Australian Prime subscribers were affected between November 2023 and August 2025, when ads were rolled into Prime Video and the ad-free tier was introduced as a paid upgrade without meaningful consent from existing annual subscribers.

Yahoo Finance framed the Australian case alongside a fresh US Federal Trade Commission settlement, describing it as a regulatory two-front week for the marketplace giant (Yahoo Finance, 30 June 2026). Under recent amendments to the Australian Consumer Law, penalties for unfair contract terms can now reach the greater of $50 million, three times the benefit obtained, or 30 per cent of adjusted turnover during the breach period (NewsGram international coverage). ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said in the filing statement that the case will test how far a subscription platform can rewrite the deal on customers who have already paid up front for a year.

For the Australian shopper the practical implication is unchanged from Monday. Audit every one-year prepaid streaming, membership or software subscription for adverse-changes clauses, and be sceptical of any product that quietly moves you from an ad-free experience to an ad-supported one mid-contract. If you were caught by the Prime Video shift between November 2023 and August 2025, the ACCC’s proceedings do not automatically compensate you, but a successful case is likely to open the door to redress.

Fuel Excise Halved To 16 Cents A Litre

The federal government’s temporary fuel excise cut took effect on 1 July, halving the excise from 51.6 cents a litre to 25.8 cents a litre, and dropping through to a headline saving of approximately 16 cents a litre at the pump once GST and retail margins are accounted for. The cut runs until 2 August. The ACCC has publicly warned retail service stations not to hold the reduction back at the bowser (AMR Times reporting the West Australian’s coverage). Broker.com.au’s mid-year macro summary places the excise cut alongside the RBA holding the cash rate at 3.85 per cent, framing July as a modest household-cash-flow reprieve (Broker.com.au macro roundup).

The shopper move is to compare the board price at your regular fuel outlet against the state average on accc.gov.au fuel price monitoring before filling. Any servo running noticeably above the state average through July can be reported to the regulator, and the reports feed the ACCC’s next petrol monitoring report. Because the excise cut is temporary, retailers who use fuel intensively (last-mile logistics, in-store cafes, food service) can also plausibly pass on softer freight costs through July. Watch supermarket fuel dockets: the 4 cents a litre discount is now stacking against a lower base.

Penalty Units Just Went Up: Fixed Fines Bite Harder

Also from 1 July, the Commonwealth penalty unit rose from $330 to $364, a 10.3 per cent lift indexed under section 4AA of the Crimes Act (ACCC fines and penalties reference). Every fixed-dollar penalty that references a penalty unit ticks up in step, which is most of the sanctions in the Australian Consumer Law, Competition and Consumer Act, and hundreds of secondary regulations. Johnson Winter Slattery’s competition team walked through the flow-on for corporate breaches, noting the corporate maximum for a competition or consumer law contravention is now the greater of $100 million, three times the benefit obtained, or 30 per cent of adjusted Australian turnover during the breach period (JWS commercial law update).

Sitting alongside the price-gouging prohibition on Coles and Woolworths (still live from Tuesday, see ACCC supermarket excessive-pricing prohibition), and SBS News’s explainer on how the ban lands for consumers (SBS News explainer, 1 July 2026), the enforcement environment for large retailers going into the second week of the new year is measurably tighter than it was a fortnight ago. Andrew Leigh MP’s summary of the government’s price-gouging framework (Andrew Leigh policy note) sets out the political logic behind the tightening. For the shopper it is simple: if you spot a “was” price at a major supermarket that looks confected, or a subscription auto-renewal that quietly shifted terms, report it. The reports actually go somewhere now.

Five Fresh Australian Stores To Spend That Wage Rise

Five stores. Five categories. All fresh names today (none carried over from yesterday’s Top 6), audited at dawn on day three of the new financial year.

1Today’s Top
DiscountKmartDiscount StoreItem-level cuts up to 97 per cent off Kmart’s Clearance rail: kids sports bottles, toys, homewares, apparel and pantry basics from the Australian-owned discount department chain, with verified item-level cuts like the Sage Sports Bottle Bag at $0.20 down from $6 and click and collect from more than 300 stores nationwide.50%OFF2SussanWomens FashionUp to 93 per cent off Sussan’s On Sale collection: womens tops, dresses, denim, knitwear, sleepwear and accessories from the Melbourne-founded Australian-owned womens fashion brand, with verified item-level cuts like the Silver Oval Stud Earrings at $1 down from $14.95 and free delivery on orders over $100.93%OFF3Pillow TalkBeddingItem-level cuts up to 92 per cent off Pillow Talk’s Shop All Sale: quilt covers, sheet sets, cushions, towels, table linen and seasonal placemats from the Australian-owned bedding and homewares specialist, with verified item-level cuts like the Gingerbread Christmas Paper Placemat 24 Pack at $0.97 down from $12.95 and click and collect from more than 65 stores.40%OFF4Novo ShoesFootwearUp to 81 per cent off Novo Shoes’s sale range: heels, boots, flats, sandals and workwear from the Australian-owned footwear retailer founded in 1976, with verified item-level cuts like the Zylvia Silver Heel at $15 down from $79.95 and free Australian shipping on orders over $70.81%OFF5Mr Toys ToyworldToysItem-level cuts up to 80 per cent off Mr Toys Toyworld’s Toy Sale: preschool, dolls, construction, board games, plush and outdoor toys from the Queensland-founded Australian-owned toy retailer, with verified item-level cuts like the Tile Town Pet Vet playset at $19.97 down from $99 and click and collect from stores across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.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, another handful of Australian-owned stores are running strong cuts as the EOFY tail plays out. Myer has its Stocktake Sale live with a further 60 per cent off, including the Jamie Oliver Tefal Triple Frypan Set at $125 down from $429.95 (the Top 6 ticker pick today) from the ASX-listed Australian department store. Rebel Sport is still running up to 50 per cent off selected footwear and activewear. Temple and Webster‘s EOFY Sale continues at up to 50 per cent off with the Gala 4 Seater Boucle Sofa with Double Chaise at $1,199 down from $2,499 from the ASX-listed Australian-owned furniture retailer. Macpac‘s up to 50 per cent off apparel continues from the Australian-owned outdoor brand. Domayne‘s Half Yearly Sale is extended with 55 per cent off selected accessories. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled and worth a scan.

Our Take

Three days into the new year the picture is settling. Households are carrying a genuine cash tailwind this month (bigger wages, lower fuel, tighter grocery enforcement, higher fines for anyone who tries to game either shoppers or subscribers). The retailer picture is more mixed: mid-tier chains with heavy award-covered workforces are absorbing a real wage lift while trying to hold sticker prices through the EOFY tail, and the biggest players are operating under enforcement scrutiny that has genuinely stepped up. The shopper move this week is to use the lower fuel and higher take-home pay to consolidate deferred household purchases (bedding, footwear, kids essentials, small furniture) while retailers are still clearing FY2025 to 26 stock. And if you see something that looks off (a suspicious grocery ticket, a mid-contract subscription tweak, a servo not passing through the excise cut) report it. The regulator has three fresh sticks this week and looks willing to use them.

The shoppable side of It’s On Sale is built for that decision. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned and locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. Our AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “kids school stationery under 10” or “womens boots size 8 on sale”). You will never find Temu, Shein, AliExpress or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand here. Browse Today’s Sales on day three of the new year.

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

Day two of the new financial year, and the shopper’s world has quietly rewired overnight. As of Tuesday, Coles and Woolworths sit under a world-first excessive-pricing prohibition, with the ACCC now empowered to interrogate any grocery sticker it finds significantly above the cost of supply plus a reasonable margin. On the same morning the regulator blocked a proposed Coles lease in Kalgoorlie, the first use of its new merger powers to protect a smaller local competitor. Australia Post lifts parcel, Express Post and international rates from today, which reshapes the shipping economics of every EOFY tail deal. And the retail sector heads into July on the back of a 5.8 per cent lift in annual spending. The pieces on the board have moved.

The Price-Gouging Ban Is Live: Coles And Woolies On The Clock

From 1 July, any grocery retailer with more than $30 billion in annual Australian revenue (currently only Coles and Woolworths) is prohibited from engaging in excessive pricing of grocery products (ACCC pricing guidance). The new prohibition is an addition to the Food and Grocery Code, defining excessive pricing as pricing that is “significantly excessive when compared to the costs to the supermarket to supply the product plus a reasonable margin”. Financial penalties for a breach are the greater of $10 million, three times the benefit obtained, or 10 per cent of adjusted annual turnover.

ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe framed the enforcement posture on ABC AM this morning: “This isn’t about preventing price increases when justified. It’s about ensuring that there is a valid rationale for those increases” (Isabel Moussalli reporting for ABC AM with Barbara Miller, 1 July 2026). The regulator has flagged it will pick priority product categories using consumer and supplier reports, then work backwards through supermarket cost and margin data. Julia Kanapathippillai’s analysis for Mediaweek notes the same day the regulator blocked a proposed Coles supermarket lease in Kalgoorlie WA (Mediaweek, 26 June 2026), the first live use of its expanded merger powers to protect a smaller regional competitor.

For the shopper the read is practical. The new law is unlikely to move sticker prices overnight (the regulator itself acknowledges the difficulty of proof), but the disclosure and monitoring regime is a real one. Any shopper who spots a suspicious “was” price at Coles or Woolies can now report it via accc.gov.au, and the report joins the ACCC’s priority-monitoring pool. Combined with the Federal Court’s May decision that 13 of 14 Coles “Down Down” tickets were misleading (Justice O’Bryan, penalties pending, theoretically up to $650 million), the pricing-disclosure environment for the majors is meaningfully tighter than it was a fortnight ago.

Australia Post Lifts Parcel And Express Prices Today

From this morning, Australia Post has raised prices across the domestic Parcel Post and Express Post services, international parcel and letter services, local pickup and delivery, mail redirection and mail hold, unaddressed mail, and MyPost Business rates (Australia Post 2026 pricing update). Passport and ID photo services also rose. The changes flow directly into the shipping economics of every online retailer that uses Australia Post for standard delivery.

The shopper move is straightforward. Ahead of the EOFY tail (many Australian retailers keep their end-of-financial-year deals live for the first few days of July), consolidate multi-item orders into a single delivery to spread the higher postage across more units. Chase “free shipping over $X” thresholds, which most Australian-owned retailers still honour and which now save more than they did last week. And check whether your favourite retailer absorbs the change or passes it on: many mid-tier retailers have historically eaten small postage rises to keep basket abandonment down, but a rise of this scale is likely to surface on the checkout screens of the shipping-heaviest categories (homewares, furniture, larger apparel orders).

Retail Spending Enters July On A 5.8 Per Cent Uplift

Australian retail turnover grew 5.8 per cent over the year to May 2026 to $39.67 billion, with growth recorded across every retail category (Australian Retail Council media release). Australian Retail Council Chief Economist Glenn Fahey said the figures show resilience despite subdued consumer confidence and ongoing cost-of-living pressure. Northern Territory (up 8.1 per cent) and Western Australia (up 7.3 per cent) recorded the strongest state growth, while Victoria (5.1 per cent) and New South Wales (5.3 per cent) saw more moderate lifts.

The ABS’s Monthly Household Spending Indicator confirms the story from the demand side: May 2026 household spending rose 1.3 per cent month on month, reversing April’s 1.1 per cent drop, with clothing and footwear (up 2.7 per cent) leading the rebound followed by miscellaneous goods and services and transport (ABS media release, 25 June 2026). Reuters framed the number as evidence household demand is holding despite the RBA’s cash rate sitting at 4.35 per cent, which the market now regards as the peak of the cycle (Reuters, 25 June 2026). The Q2 CPI print due 29 July is the next real hinge for household planning.

Amazon Prime Case Rolls Into Court: Regulator On Two Fronts

Yesterday’s lead is still developing. The ACCC’s Federal Court action against Amazon Australia over alleged unfair Prime contract terms sits alongside a fresh US Federal Trade Commission settlement, with Yahoo Finance framing the pair as a regulatory two-front week for the marketplace giant (Yahoo Finance, 30 June 2026). The Australian case, filed 30 June, targets Amazon Commercial Services Pty Ltd over five allegedly unfair terms used to introduce ads to Prime Video mid-contract. For the Australian shopper the practical implication is unchanged from yesterday’s brief: audit every one-year prepaid subscription for adverse-changes clauses.

Five Fresh Australian Stores For Day Two Of FY2026 To 27

Five stores. Five categories. All fresh names today (none carried over from yesterday’s Top 6), audited at dawn on day two of the new financial year.

1Today’s Top
DiscountBooktopiaBooksUp to 90 per cent off Booktopia’s Big Book Sale: kids and teens fiction, cookbooks, biographies, novels and reference from the Sydney-based Australian-owned online bookseller, with verified item-level cuts like the Morganville Vampires Book 3 at $4.75 down from $19.99 and free Australian shipping on orders over $60.90%OFF2Best & LessValue FashionItem-level cuts up to 86 per cent off Best and Less’s $2 and Under clearance rail: kids stationery, socks, undies, tees and value basics from the Australian-owned value fashion chain, with verified item-level cuts like the Pop Note Pad Assorted at $0.98 down from $7.00 and click and collect from more than 200 stores.86%OFF3David JonesDepartment StoreUp to 80 per cent off David Jones’s mid-year sale: homewares, cookware, glassware, beauty, fashion and manchester from the iconic Australian department store, with verified item-level cuts like the Orrefors More Multi Tumbler 4 Pack at $55 down from $145 plus an extra 50 per cent off selected sale styles at checkout.80%OFF4SmiggleKids & ToysItem-level cuts up to 77 per cent off Smiggle’s Nothing Over $50 sale: pencil cases, backpacks, lunchboxes, water bottles and keyrings from the Melbourne-founded Australian-owned kids stationery brand, with verified item-level cuts like the Peeps Alphabet Keyring at $3.00 down from $12.95 and click and collect from Smiggle stores nationwide.77%OFF5Chemist WarehouseBeauty & HealthItem-level cuts up to 68 per cent off Chemist Warehouse’s clearance: makeup, skincare, vitamins, fragrance, haircare and pharmacy from Australia’s largest chemist chain, with verified item-level cuts like the NYX Bridgerton Angel Food Cake Royal Butter Gloss at $5.00 down from $15.99 and free delivery on orders over $50.68%OFF

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

Other Deals Worth A Look

Beyond the Top 5, another five Australian-owned stores are running strong cuts as the EOFY tail plays out. Temple and Webster has its EOFY Sale live at up to 50 per cent off, with the Gala 4 Seater Boucle Sofa with Double Chaise at $1,199 down from $2,499 (the Top 6 ticker pick today) from the ASX-listed Australian-owned furniture retailer. Rebel Sport is running up to 50 per cent off selected footwear including the Theragun Prime G5 at $275 down from $499. Domayne‘s Half Yearly Sale is extended with 55 per cent off selected accessories. Kmart‘s clearance is live from the Australian-owned discount department chain. Macpac‘s up to 50 per cent off apparel continues from the Australian-owned outdoor brand. All five are Australian-owned or locally fulfilled and worth a scan.

Our Take

The consumer regulator has just moved from prosecuting individual “was” price offences (Coles Down Down, JB Hi-Fi) to sitting in the enforcement chair on Coles and Woolworths pricing full time. That change is structural. It does not lower a single sticker this morning, but it changes the settings on every future price rise: the burden of proof on “significantly excessive” pricing now sits with the two biggest chains and the ACCC. Combined with the parcel rate lift from Australia Post and the wage plus tax uplift that arrived yesterday, the household enters the second day of the new year with a materially different mix of cash in and cash out. The move for shoppers this week is to lock in EOFY tail purchases while retailers are still absorbing postage, and to route any high-conviction grocery complaints to the ACCC where they now count.

The shoppable side of It’s On Sale is built for that decision. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned and locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. Our AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “kids school stationery” or “boucle sofa under 1500”). You will never find Temu, Shein, AliExpress or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand here. Browse Today’s Sales on day two of the new year.

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

Day one of the 2026 to 2027 financial year, and three things land in the shopper’s lap on the same morning. The National Minimum Wage steps up 5.97 per cent to $1,004.90 a week. The income tax rate on the $18,201 to $45,000 bracket falls from 16 per cent to 15 per cent. Paid parental leave extends from 24 to 26 weeks at the minimum wage, payday super begins, and the Super Guarantee reaches 12 per cent. At the same time, the consumer regulator has just pressed the button on its biggest subscription-economy case of 2026: a Federal Court action against Amazon Australia over allegedly unfair Prime contract terms that paved the way for ads on Prime Video. The first pay packet of the new year is bigger, and the consumer watchdog is on the warpath.

The ACCC Just Sued Amazon Australia Over Prime Video Ads

On Tuesday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission filed proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Amazon Australia (Amazon Commercial Services Pty Ltd) over allegedly unfair contract terms in Prime annual subscriptions. The case alleges Amazon AU included five unfair terms in its Prime contracts between November 2023 and August 2025, and then relied on those terms to introduce advertising to Prime Video in July 2024 and charge subscribers an extra $2.99 per month for an ad-free option, with no refund offered to subscribers who chose to cancel (Amber Schultz reporting for Bloomberg, 30 June 2026).

ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said in a statement that “Amazon AU included multiple unfair terms in its contracts with Australian annual Prime subscribers, and it then relied on some of these terms to bring ads onto Amazon Prime Video” (Lim Hui Jie reporting for CNBC, 30 June 2026). More than 850,000 annual Prime subscribers in Australia were affected, and the ACCC has also alleged that Amazon US (Amazon.com Services LLC) was knowingly concerned in the conduct (Caron Beaton-Wells writing for The Conversation, 30 June 2026). The maximum financial penalty is the greater of $50 million, three times the benefit obtained, or 30 per cent of adjusted turnover during the breach period.

For the shopper the read is direct. Any recurring subscription (streaming, mobile plan, energy retail, gym, software, news, kids subscription box) bought as a one-year prepaid product can have its terms quietly degraded mid-contract. The ACCC case sends a market-wide signal that adverse-changes clauses without pro-rata refunds will not stand. The lever every household has tonight is to read the cancellation and adverse-changes clauses on every recurring spend before the next renewal, and flag any one-year prepay where the terms can be unilaterally degraded.

The Pay Rise Starts Working Through Pay Slips Today

The Fair Work Commission’s 2026 Annual Wage Review takes effect with the first full pay period on or after 1 July. The National Minimum Wage lifts 5.97 per cent, taking the weekly rate from $948.00 to $1,004.90, or $26.44 per hour (Australian Unions minimum wage fact sheet). Modern award minimum wages rise 4.75 per cent across the board, benefiting around 2.8 million Australian workers, with the lowest-paid 100,000 entry-level workers receiving the bigger 5.97 per cent uplift (Caitlin Cassidy and Sarah Basford Canales writing for the Guardian, 30 June 2026).

The income tax cut compounds with the wage rise. The marginal rate on the $18,201 to $45,000 bracket steps down from 16 per cent to 15 per cent, worth up to $268 per taxpayer per year (Effie Zahos and team at Canstar). For a full-time minimum-wage worker the combined uplift, weekly cash plus annual tax saving, is the most meaningful real-wage shift since the 2024 stage 3 cuts. The first pay packet of the new financial year is the moment a household budget gets to recalibrate.

Payday Super, Parental Leave, And Two State-Level Cost-Of-Living Wins

From this morning, employers must pay superannuation simultaneously with wages instead of quarterly (the payday super regime starts). The Super Guarantee also reaches 12 per cent today, completing the SG ramp-up. Paid parental leave at the National Minimum Wage extends from 24 to 26 weeks (an extra 10 days, totalling 130 days) for children born or adopted from today, giving Australian parents a full six months of paid leave at the floor wage (ABC News, 30 June 2026).

Two state-level wins land at the same time. In NSW, toll relief and public transport relief measures begin today. In Victoria, the Essential Services Commission cuts the default electricity price for the 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 period. Standing electricity plans in NSW and south-east Queensland are also expected to fall between 3.4 per cent and 10.7 per cent versus 2025 to 2026 (Tory Shepherd writing for The Guardian, syndicated via Inkl). The household budget enters the new year materially lighter on fixed costs in two of the three biggest state energy markets, on top of the wage and tax wins.

Five Fresh Australian Stores For Day One Of FY2026 To 27

Five stores. Five categories. Six fresh names today (none repeated from yesterday’s EOFY close), audited at dawn on day one of the new financial year.

1Today’s Top
DiscountSurfstitchSurf & ActiveUp to 90 per cent off Surfstitch’s sale: tees, hoodies, board shorts, dresses, swim, fleece and outerwear from the Gold Coast-founded Australian-owned surf retailer, with a stand-out item-level cut like the Nat’v Basics Miami Bodysuit at $6 down from $60 and free Australian shipping on orders over $100.90%OFF2MyerDepartment StoreUp to 82 per cent off Myer’s Stocktake Sale: homewares, kitchenware, beauty, fashion, manchester and small appliances from the iconic Australian-owned department store, with verified item-level cuts like the KitchenAid Medium Stoneware Baker at $10 down from $56 and click and collect from 50 plus stores nationwide.82%OFF3DuskHomewares & CandlesUp to 80 per cent off Dusk’s End of Season Sale: candles, diffusers, incense, ceramics, throws, bath and home fragrance from the Australian-owned candle and home specialist, with verified item-level cuts like the Nova White Incense Holder at $5 down from $24.99 and click and collect from 130 plus Australian stores.80%OFF4JB Hi-FiElectronicsUp to 54 per cent off JB Hi-Fi’s hottest deals: robot vacuums, tablets, smart watches, laptops, headphones, TVs and small kitchen from the iconic Australian-owned electronics chain, with verified item-level cuts like the ECOVACS X11 OmniCyclone robot vacuum at $1,388 down from $2,999 and click and collect from 200 plus stores nationwide.53%OFF5Pillow TalkBeddingUp to 52 per cent off Pillow Talk’s storewide sale: quilt covers, sheets, pillowcases, throws, towels, decor and bath from the Australian-owned bedding specialist, with verified item-level cuts like the Isadora Palm European Pillowcase at $11.95 down from $24.95 and free shipping on orders over $100.52%OFF

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

Other Deals Worth A Look

Beyond the Top 5, five other Australian-owned stores are still running deep cuts this morning. Koala is at 30 per cent off the Bottlebrush Rug at $315 from $450 from the Sydney-headquartered Australian-owned furniture and mattress brand (the Top 6 ticker pick today). Target is running an extended clearance from the Australian-owned mid-market department chain. Best and Less has its winter clearance live from the Australian-owned value fashion retailer. Lightspot is still running up to 89 per cent off the lighting clearance from the South Australian-owned lighting specialist. Macpac has continued the up to 50 per cent off Macpac apparel range from the Australian-owned outdoor brand. None are in today’s Top 5 but each is worth a scan over morning coffee.

Our Take

Day one of the new financial year is the strongest combined household uplift since the 2024 stage 3 cuts. The wage rise, the tax bracket cut, the parental leave extension and the energy price falls in two states all land at once. At the same time the ACCC’s Amazon case is the loudest message to the subscription economy in years: unilateral mid-contract degradations of paid services without refunds will be litigated. The two stories together tell a single shopper story. The household enters FY2026 to 27 with more weekly cash, lower fixed costs, and a regulator on the side of the consumer challenging the contracts the household signs without reading. The discipline this morning is to take the uplift, audit the recurring subscriptions for unfair adverse-changes clauses, and put the freed dollars into items the household actually uses.

The shoppable side of It’s On Sale is built for that decision. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned and locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. Our AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “winter work shoes” or “robot vacuum under 1500”). You will never find Temu, Shein, AliExpress or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand here. Browse Today’s Sales on day one of the new year.

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