How to tell if a supermarket special is real
Last updated 15 May 2026
A genuine special means today’s price is meaningfully lower than what that product normally sells for. But some promotions label products as discounted when the was price was never consistently charged before the promotion began. Price history is the most reliable way to check.
Search any product to see its price history →
What a genuine special looks like
A real special has a current price that is clearly lower than the previous 90 days of observed prices. The was price matches prices that were actually charged before the promotion period. A product at $5.00 for the past six months now at $3.50 with a was price of $5.00 is a likely genuine deal.
What a potentially misleading special looks like
Consider a product priced at $3.00 for several months. The price rises to $4.50 for two or three weeks. It is then placed on special at $3.50 showing a was price of $4.50. The result is that $3.50 is actually higher than the original $3.00 price the product held before the spike. The ACCC alleges this pattern occurred across hundreds of products at both Woolworths and Coles.
The Federal Court ruling — May 14 2026
On May 14 2026 the Federal Court found that Coles made false or misleading representations about its Down Down discounts across 245 products. The court examined 14 sample Down Down promotions and found 13 of them were not genuine discounts.
The pattern: Coles raised prices by at least 15% for a short period, then placed products on Down Down at a price that was the same as or higher than the original price before the spike.
The Rexona deodorant example from the ruling: $5.00 regular price. Raised to $6.50 for one month. Then Down Down at $6.00. The promotional price was $1.00 more than the original regular price. Justice Michael O’Bryan ruled the discounts were “not genuine” and the conduct was misleading.
A separate case against Woolworths over its Prices Dropped campaign is still before the Federal Court with a ruling expected within weeks.
ShopHop is not affiliated with the ACCC and makes no legal conclusions. We independently track price history so you can see these patterns yourself.
ACCC media release — Coles ruling ↗
How ShopHop tracks this
ShopHop records the price of every product on an ongoing basis. When a product is on special you can see the full price history graph and judge for yourself whether today’s special price is genuinely lower than the recent trend.
Our promotions analysis feature, which will flag products where the was price was not consistently observed before the promotion, activates on 20 July 2026 after 90 days of daily tracking.
How to check a specific product right now
- Search the product on ShopHop.
- Open the product detail page.
- View the price history graph.
- Check whether today’s special price is actually lower than the recent trend.
Frequently asked questions
A promotional price labelled as a discount where the was price was not genuinely charged for a sustained period before the promotion. The ACCC uses the term illusory discount in its proceedings. ShopHop describes cases where the was price was observed for fewer days than the promotional period as having price history that does not support the claimed was price.