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Best and worst appliance stores in 2024

We surveyed over 3500 Australians about their experiences buying electrical appliances online and instore.

woman buying phone instore with a sales person
Matthew Steen
Last updated: 21 November 2024
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Fact-checked

Checked for accuracy by our qualified verifiers and subject experts. Find out more about fact-checking at CHOICE.

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Need to know

  • Over 3500 CHOICE supporters answered our survey on the best and worst electrical appliance retailers in Australia
  • Appliances Online has the best online shopping experience, three surveys in a row
  • E&S Trading has the best instore shopping experience, with Retravision, Winnings and Betta not far behind

When you're in the market for a new washing machine or TV, do you like the ease that comes with buying online from the comfort of your own home? Or do you prefer the experience of shopping instore and sizing up the products first-hand before you commit?

With the rising cost of living, good value for money is a major selling point. But which stores have the widest range of products? And which ones can you count on for good customer service?

We asked more than 3500 CHOICE supporters about their experiences buying appliances in the past 12 months

We asked more than 3500 CHOICE supporters about their experiences buying appliances in the past 12 months, and whether they were satisfied with the stores they visited, in person or online. 

For physical stores, we asked participants to rate the range of products and brands, value for money, customer service, delivery, after-sales service, deals and discounts offered and also store appearance.

For online stores, we asked much the same, but added ease of using the website, payment options, the returns process and level of product details. We included results for stores that had over 50 responses.

Best and worst brick-and-mortar stores

Best instore shop for overall satisfaction: E&S Trading

E&S Trading took out our coveted top spot for instore shopping, with many people praising its after-sales service, range of products and brands available, and delivery service. E&S Trading's after-sales service was the retailer's stand-out criteria.

A downside is that E&S Trading is not nationally available, with showrooms primarily in Victoria, and just one in the ACT.

Retravision, Winnings Appliances and Betta also scored well overall. Retravision's value for money and customer service ranked high, though its range of products and brands didn't rate quite as well as E&S Trading and Winnings.

Worst instore shop for overall satisfaction: Big W, Kmart and Myer

Department stores Big W, Kmart and Myer consistently rated lower than other stores in almost all categories in our survey. Big W had low scores for its range of products and brands and value for money, and many of our survey respondents said it was difficult to find customer service instore. Myer shoppers were not impressed with the value for money. Kmart respondents rated the range of products, customer service and layout of the store lower.

Pressure to buy extended warranties

We received more than a few comments around extended warranties and how salespeople push them, particularly at Harvey Norman. We've researched terms and conditions on extended warranties and in many circumstances found they were useless, so take a look at the T&Cs before you commit to anything. 

Our free consumer rights guides are helpful resources for learning more about extended warranties, along with what to do when you have problems with a product or service.

If you feel you've been unduly pressured into accepting an extended warranty, you can lodge a complaint with the ACCC.

Best and worst online stores

Despite some pandemic-fuelled growth in the past two years, online shopping is yet to eclipse shopping instore as our preferred way to buy, with over 60% of us still making the trek to physical shops to buy our new appliances and electronic goods. 

But for those who do prefer the online shopping experience, our survey uncovered some strong feelings about which stores deserve your business.

Best online shop for overall satisfaction: Appliances Online

Appliances Online topped every online category in our survey. We've had plenty of good feedback for Appliances Online anecdotally in recent years, and for a relatively young company (it was founded in 2005) to have gained so much ground over the past decade is an impressive thing. Though it no doubt helps that its parent company, Winning Group, has been an appliances fixture in Australia for over a century.

Worst online shop for overall satisfaction: Kogan

At the other end of the spectrum, Kogan scored 27 percentage points lower than Appliances Online. While there were a few comments around a good experience, mostly the feedback was negative.

Extended warranties sold in online stores

One of the things we were disappointed to see is how many extended warranties are being sold online using pre-selected check boxes – a deceptive web design, sometimes also called a dark pattern. The ACCC has picked up on this sort of behaviour, flagging the problem as an area where new rules are needed to protect consumers.

When even the airlines succumbed to pressure to stop pre-selecting checkboxes, you have to wonder what some online stores like Appliances Online are thinking. While it's not against the law, at CHOICE we think it's dodgy practice for any industry to use these sorts of deceptive practices to try to impose additional expenses on consumers. 

We think it's dodgy practice for any industry to use deceptive practices to try to impose additional expenses on consumers

It's particularly galling when the extra expense is for an extended warranty, a type of product that often just sells you rights that you already have for free under the Australian Consumer Law. Given Appliances Online comes off so well in our survey, we'd expect more from them. At least their sister site, Winning Appliances, doesn't automatically add it on at the point of purchase.

The only stores online that don't push unnecessary and poor-value extended warranties are Amazon, eBay and Myer. Having said that, Amazon tries to influence consumers into purchasing an Amazon Prime account on the way through, as does Kogan in their subscription version as well. Other online retailers offer extended warranties but don't default to having the option ticked.

Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.

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