Australia’s consumer watchdog is investigating concerning reports of retailers making potentially misleading claims during last year’s Black Friday sales.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it found about half of 50 retailers it reviewed made concerning claims in their advertising, during its check of Black Friday sales to identify misleading or deceptive sales advertising.
“We are concerned that retailers appear to be increasingly relying on tactics that manipulate consumers by creating a false sense of urgency that they will miss out on a discount if they don’t buy the product now,” ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said.
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“Sales tactics that create a false sense of urgency can mean that consumers are unable to make an informed purchasing decision as the fear of missing out can stop them from shopping around to ensure they are securing a genuine deal or the best deal available.”
One tactic retailers were said to use was misleading countdown timers, with customers told to buy before the end of sale — however, the ACCC said it found the sales extended beyond the end time indicated, creating a false sense of urgency.
The watchdog also found retailers made large, headline claims of “sitewide” or “storewide” sales alongside much smaller disclaimers about exclusions.
“As sales periods become longer and more frequent, retailers must ensure they do not mislead consumers about the true duration of a sale and the extent of discounts,” Lowe said.
“We have commenced several investigations as a result of our Black Friday sales sweep, after seeing multiple instances of retailers engaging in concerning conduct.
“If we find evidence that this conduct was in breach of the Australian Consumer Law, then we will take appropriate enforcement action.”
Lowe said fine print disclaimers and exclusions that were buried in terms and conditions disguise the true extent of sales and can “falsely lure” consumers into a sale without realising the product they want to buy is not included.
The ACCC has done several sweeps over the past few years and found retailers had improved advertising practices in the 2025 Black Friday sales, however, some continued to make sales claims that raised concerns.
Enforcement action was taken after the 2024 Black Friday sales sweep, with Michael Hill, MyHouse and Hairhouse Online paying penalties for making misleading “sitewide” sales claims.
“As part of our investigations following the Black Friday sales sweep, we are considering retailers’ earlier conduct, including those that have seemingly failed to learn from our previous warnings and enforcement action,” Low said.
“We know that many consumers wait for sales events like the Black Friday sales to secure what they rightly expect to be a genuine deal on a product or service that they may have had their eye on for a while.
“Retailers have an obligation under the Australian Consumer Law to not mislead consumers. We will continue to prioritise taking action against unlawful conduct that seeks to take advantage of consumers during sales events.”