Best time to shop at Australian supermarkets (prices, crowds and markdowns)

When do weekly specials change?

At Woolworths and Coles, catalogue promotions typically rotate on Wednesday. The new catalogue goes live in the app and online around midnight Tuesday/Wednesday, and stores update shelf labels on Wednesday morning.

This means:

• Shopping Wednesday to Friday gives you the full week to use specials that suit your meal plan
• Shopping Monday or Tuesday means you are near the end of the current promotion cycle; some heavily discounted lines may already be out of stock
• Checking the incoming catalogue Tuesday evening lets you plan around what is about to go on special

IGA and independent banners vary—check your local store's catalogue start day, which may be Wednesday or another day of the week.

When do mark-down discounts appear in store?

Supermarkets apply clearance markdowns to near-expiry fresh items—bread, meat, dairy, produce, and deli—at different times depending on the store and the product's use-by date.

Common patterns (though individual stores vary):

• Meat and poultry: morning markdowns are common for items with a same-day or next-day use-by; larger stores sometimes do a second round in the afternoon
• Bakery: reduced items typically appear later in the day as sell-by time approaches
• Packaged produce: can appear at any point; checking the reduced section when you arrive is a useful habit

Staff stocking habits and stock levels will differ by store and day. Ask staff if you want to know when your local store typically marks items down—they are usually able to tell you.

Quietest times to shop

Crowd patterns vary by location, but broadly:

• Weekday mornings (after 9am opening, before the lunchtime rush) tend to be quietest
• Wednesday mornings can be busier than usual as shoppers come in for new specials
• Saturday mid-morning is typically the busiest window of the week at metro stores
• Late weekday evenings (after 7pm where stores are open) are quieter but markdown selection may be limited by then

A quieter shop means less time in queues and a better chance that fresh stock has not been picked over.

Does shopping time affect prices?

Headline prices do not change through the day at major chains—a special applies from when it is loaded to when it expires. The only intra-day price changes are:

• Clearance markdowns (see above)—these benefit earlier shoppers for some categories, later shoppers in bakery
• App-exclusive offers that may have limited redemptions; check the Woolworths or Coles app for active personalised offers before you leave home

Planning around catalogue day

A simple weekly habit: open the incoming catalogue on Tuesday evening (or Wednesday morning), note which items you regularly buy are on special, then plan meals around those items for the week. Cross-check a few key products on TrolleyChecker if you want to confirm whether the competing chain has a better offer on the same item.

This takes around five minutes and tends to produce better results than browsing in the aisle after you have already committed to the trip.