Nearly Six in 10 Australian Shoppers No Longer Buy at Full Price

Nearly six in 10 Australian shoppers no longer buy goods at full price, according to a KPMG report released in September 2026. The retail sector is being forced to adapt as consumers learn to wait out price cycles rather than simply weather a cost-of-living downturn.

This shift has turned sale events into planned buying exercises rather than spontaneous sprees. Rachael Hockaday, managing director of retail performance agency Haeday, told Inside Retail that consumers are increasingly planning ahead.

Shifting Consumer Timelines

Consumer price discipline has eroded standard trading periods across the sector. Hockaday said shoppers now arrive at major sales events with a clear idea of what they want and the specific price they are willing to pay.

“Sales become the time to buy, often with planning in between so they’re prepared,” Hockaday said.

Margin Pressure Across Supply Chains

Waiting penalises inventory holders who stock seasonal merchandise. Holding stock past scheduled markdown cycles inflates warehousing costs. It also forces deeper clearance discounts later in the product lifecycle.

Suppliers and brand owners see their wholesale margins squeezed. Retail buyers demand larger vendor allowances and promotional funding to protect their gross margin targets when baseline shelf prices drop.

Operational Risks for Landlords and Brands

Lease structures built on turnover rent clauses face direct exposure to these tighter margins. Volume now concentrates heavily in discounted periods. Top-line revenue may hold, but net merchant profitability shrinks.

Lower-cost international direct-to-consumer platforms gain an edge over domestic multi-brand stockists under these conditions. Domestic retailers carry heavy store fleet costs. They must compete directly with offshore digital operators running agile, on-demand supply chains.

Discount Cycles Ahead

Persistent cost-of-living pressures across major cities have entrenched this cautious buying behaviour. Consumers who adopted promotional tracking tools out of necessity have retained those habits as standard routines.

Retail operators head into the final calendar quarter with inventory adjusted for heavy discounting. Upcoming peak sales in apparel, footwear, and consumer electronics will test whether full-price trading can recover in the next financial year.