Boxing Day best buys: Member exclusive

If you still have a few items on your shopping list for 2024, the Boxing Day sales offer another opportunity to grab a bargain over the period between Christmas and into the New Year.

Despite the cost-of-living crisis, a quarter of shoppers we surveyed said they intend to shop in the Boxing Day sales, with clothing, home and kitchen products, electronics and appliances, and beauty products all popular categories for Australians looking for a bargain.

To help you shop smarter in the sales, we’ve created a special Boxing Day buying guide exclusively for CHOICE members, outlining the brands and models that topped our most popular product tests.

From fridges to mattresses, barbecues to coffee machines and more, here’s your handy hit list of the best-rated products, along with expert advice to help you shop like a pro.

Smart shopping tips to live by

Before you hit the sales, there are some key things to keep in mind if you want to shop smart and dodge a dud.

1. Expensive brands don’t always perform better

Our product test results regularly disprove the age-old adage that ‘you get what you pay for’. Our experts often see very pricey products underperform, while cheaper, lesser known ones shine.

That’s why it pays to do your homework and check the CHOICE reviews. See our Boxing Day duds guide for further proof of expensive fails.

2. A brand’s product range can vary dramatically in quality

It’s another revelation our experts see all the time in their tests. A brand can boast some of the best-performing products in one category… and some terrible ones in another.

It can depend on the quality and design of each product, which is why individual reviews are so vital.

3. Be critical of sale offers

Sure one site is offering 20% off its usual price, but was it more expensive to start with compared to others?

Before you click ‘add to cart’, it’s worth playing the field and sizing up the best deal. (Don’t forget to assess delivery costs and times too.)

Check out more expert shopping tips.

The best buys in popular categories

Some of the most popular product categories on the CHOICE website around sale time are fridges, mattresses, barbecues, air fryers, coffee machines, stick vacuums and washing machines.

Only CHOICE members can access our detailed testing data. If you’re not yet a member, join CHOICE to get instant access to all our expert, independent reviews, from coffee machines and grinders, to kettles and cots, toasters and TVs, and more.

Or log in to unlock this article and find out which products to buy in the Boxing Day sales.

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Pru Engel

Pru Engel is the Audience and Engagement editor at CHOICE. Her job is to ensure as many Australians as possible know about the great work we do at CHOICE.  She works closely with our testers and experts to find the gems of information in our data and research that will resonate with Australian consumers and help them make the best decisions, whether they're purchasing an air fryer, looking for a new mattress or trying to find the cheapest car insurance. She also helps to drive meaningful change for consumers by collaborating with our Campaigns team on content covering issues such as grocery pricing, product safety and scams.  Prior to CHOICE, Pru worked as an editor at many of Australia's leading food and lifestyle titles.  Pru has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney. Find Pru on LinkedIn.

Pru Engel is the Audience and Engagement editor at CHOICE. Her job is to ensure as many Australians as possible know about the great work we do at CHOICE.  She works closely with our testers and experts to find the gems of information in our data and research that will resonate with Australian consumers and help them make the best decisions, whether they're purchasing an air fryer, looking for a new mattress or trying to find the cheapest car insurance. She also helps to drive meaningful change for consumers by collaborating with our Campaigns team on content covering issues such as grocery pricing, product safety and scams.  Prior to CHOICE, Pru worked as an editor at many of Australia's leading food and lifestyle titles.  Pru has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney. Find Pru on LinkedIn.