Retailers warned of ‘Black Friday sweep’ over deceptive discount promotions

Sean Cao

10th Nov 2025

Retailers have been warned of a Black Friday sales sweep conducted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), targeting misleading or deceptive sales advertising tactics.

The regulator will focus on a range of conduct, such as misleading limited-time representations that create a false sense of urgency for consumers, misleading ‘site-wide’ or ‘store-wide’ claims about sales, and claims of ‘up to X per cent off’, where few products are on sale at X per cent off.

Other tactics that will be under the scope include fine print or disclaimers that seek to limit headline claims about the sale, and misleading ‘was/now’ or ‘strikethrough’ pricing representations.

“We are putting retailers on notice to review their sales advertising practices to ensure that any sales or discount claims they make are accurate, clear, and not likely to mislead or deceive consumers,” said ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe.

“Misleading advertising may influence a consumer’s behaviour and impact their ability to make an informed purchasing decision during the sales.

“We will pay special attention to retailers who were identified as having problematic sales practices in the sweep we conducted during last year’s Black Friday and Boxing Day sales and expect to see improved compliance across the retail sector,” Lowe added.

Retailers caught using misleading tactics during last year’s sweep include Michael Hill, My House, and Hairhouse, among others. The three major retailers each had to pay a penalty of $19,800 earlier this year, while investigations into other similar cases are still going.

The ACCC encourages consumers to be wary of broad claims about discounts or savings during Black Friday and to check for any disclaimers or conditions in sales advertisements.

The regulator has also released guidance for retailers to follow in order to avoid making misleading advertisements and promotions.