New Roy Morgan research suggests that the idea of what is considered a low price in Australia is shifting, with global online marketplaces making expectations even lower as peak retail season kicks off with Black Friday sales.

Kmart and Big W still lead on value perception, with 58 per cent and 45 per cent of Australians associating the brands with low prices. But most traditional discount chains have lost ground in the past five years, while online heavyweights have made gains. Roy Morgan says The Reject Shop’s score has fallen 18% points since 2020, Big W is down 10%, and Target is down 7%. In the same period Amazon has gone up 7% points.

The shift accelerated in the past year. Temu’s low price association has risen from 34 to 41 (+7% points) since October 2024, overtaking The Reject Shop. Shein has lifted from 23 to 27 (+4% points) and is now on par with Bunnings and Target.

The Reject Shop’s acquisition by Canadian discounter Dollarama is expected to increase competition and provide access to deeper sourcing scale. But analysts say Dollarama will be entering a very different landscape compared with the one The Reject Shop has operated in. Online marketplaces have already begun reshaping what Australian shoppers think is a reasonable price.

Roy Morgan head of retail and consumer products Catherine Jolley said ultra-low-cost platforms have effectively reset pricing reference points for many categories.

“Cheap is getting even cheaper. The rise of ultra-low-cost online marketplaces is recalibrating what consumers now consider a normal price. Players like Temu, Shein, Amazon and soon Dollarama are resetting those anchors and dragging price expectations down across the board,” she said.

Ms Jolley said the effect is not uniform. Apparel is seeing the biggest change while categories like hardware have not shifted as much. The outcome she said is real pressure on retail pricing strategy and a rethink of how and where retailers compete.

Australians are tipped to spend a record $6.8 billion during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend according to the Australian Retailers Association and Roy Morgan, which would represent a 4 per cent increase on last year.