ACCC puts Black Friday countdown timers on notice

Somewhere in Australia, a countdown timer is ticking towards zero for the third time this week. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) would like a word.

The regulator has confirmed it will run its third Black Friday and Cyber Monday sweep. It will be looking for the tactics that have become as much a part of the November ritual as the sales themselves: the “storewide” sale that leaves out half the store, the “ends tonight” offer that somehow makes it to Tuesday, and the strikethrough price nobody ever paid.

This year the net is wider. For the first time, the sweep will look past retailers’ websites to their emails and social media. That reflects how most bargain hunting starts now, with a push notification or a sponsored post rather than a homepage.

What the ACCC is hunting for

The sweep will target four categories of potentially misleading conduct:

• “Sitewide” or “storewide” claims when a large number of products are excluded
• Time-limited offers and countdown timers that run past their stated end date
• Pressure tactics, including misleading testimonials and false claims that stock is running low
• Sale prices compared against reference prices the product was never sold at, or hasn’t been sold at recently

The ACCC will also track how promotional tactics have changed over time, including newer ones. It will assess whether retailers’ compliance with the Australian Consumer Law has improved over the past three years.

The fine print won’t save you

ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe was blunt about where the line sits.

“Retailers risk ACCC enforcement action if they misrepresent the size, scope or duration of their sales. Retailers should not be relying on fine print disclaimers or exclusions to qualify the headline message of a promotion,” Lowe said.

In other words, the asterisk is not a legal strategy.

Lowe said shoppers have learned to plan around the sales period. “Consumers continue to look for the best prices and may delay major purchases until Black Friday and Cyber Monday in anticipation of good value and legitimate discounts,” she said.

“Consumers should be able to trust that the advertised savings and discount prices are genuine, but we know some businesses use tactics to mislead consumers into thinking they are getting a bargain even when they are not.”

How the ACCC’s Black Friday sweeps have played out

The 2024 and 2025 sweeps led to real penalties. In June 2025, Michael Hill, MyHouse and Hairhouse Warehouse Online paid penalties over alleged misleading “sitewide” sale claims.

The next round came in September 2026. digiDirect paid penalties and admitted to making misleading strikethrough discount claims. James Lane and Vuly paid penalties over alleged false and misleading representations during the previous year’s Black Friday sales.

When the shopfront is the scam

Inflated discounts aren’t the only risk. The ACCC is also warning shoppers about fake online stores, which use big discounts and “limited time” offers to rush people into buying before they check who they’re buying from.

In the first nine months of 2026, 58.7% of Scamwatch reports involving a financial loss were about buying and selling scams.

The regulator advises consumers to focus on the final price rather than promotional claims. That means checking for exclusions and conditions, comparing prices across retailers and over time, and buying only when the price and timing suit them.

“Consumers should be aware that a ‘sale’ sign doesn’t always mean it’s a good deal,” Lowe said.

Black Friday falls on 27 November this year. Plenty of countdown timers will already be running by then, and this year the ACCC will be watching whether they actually stop.