We'll beat it by 15%! Our guide to price guarantees and price promises

What is a price guarantee?

Price guarantees are a feature of big-box retailers in New Zealand. Briscoes, The Warehouse, JB Hi-Fi, among others, also offer to match a price if you find it cheaper elsewhere.

Some stores will honour the cheaper price and discount it further. Briscoes and Rebel Sport offer a further 10% off, while Bunnings and Mitre 10 offer 15%.

JB Hi-Fi, Noel Leeming and The Warehouse will match the cheaper price, but don’t offer a further discount.

Our recent investigation also found price guarantees at Chemist Warehouse and Bargain Chemist.

The stores offering price guarantees

Terms and conditions to get the price guarantee

The terms and conditions you need to meet to get a price guarantee are similar across the stores. You can only compare the price with a New Zealand retailer, and some stores state the retailer must have physical and online stores (rather than online only).

The item you’re comparing must be identical at most stores we surveyed – right down to the colour – and be in stock at both retailers. If the product is on special, you can only claim the cheaper price within the special period, rather than turning up 2 weeks after the product was available at a reduced price.

You’ll also need to provide evidence of the competitor store’s current advertised price. This could be a flyer, quote or advertisement, or a screenshot from its website.

Some stores offer an online facility enabling you to access the cheaper price-matched deal.

Price guarantee exclusions

There are similar exclusions, which price guarantees won’t apply to, across all retailers. They include gift cards, any goods bought for a business or tradesperson, and stock that’s been heavily discounted to clear it out. Duty free store comparisons are also excluded.

In July 2025, the Commerce Commission filed charges in the Auckland District Court against Noel Leeming, alleging several breaches of the Fair Trading Act. One of which included the promotion and application of the retailer’s ‘Price Promise’.

The Commission believes Noel Leeming’s price promise had too many limitations and conditions which made it hard for customers to claim the price promise.

Jason Bell, CEO of Noel Leeming said, "We firmly maintain that we have committed no offence. We’re perplexed by the Commission’s claim that price matches were difficult to obtain, when over 250,000 Kiwis saved money with our Price Promise between 2019-2021. When we can’t match the price, we often don’t get the sale. Price matching is widely used by the industry, and it helps drive competition, and without it, Kiwis will end up paying more."

Can I get a refund if the price drops after I buy?

If you bought something at Briscoes that wasn’t on special, but the next week it is, you can go back to the store and ask to be refunded the difference.

This is called a price promise and only applies to price comparisons with the retailer’s own pricing. It’s also available at Rebel Sport.

You will need to bring the receipt or bank statement.

You must claim the price promise when the product is cheaper. This can be done instore or online. However, there is a 14-day time limit, so if the product is on special 3 weeks after you bought it, you’re out of luck.

What if I paid using buy now pay later?

For both price guarantees and price promises, if you paid using a buy-now-pay-later service, you’re likely to receive a gift card with the difference in price, rather than have the amount credited by the service provider.

Are price promises and guarantees useful?

A quick survey around the Consumer NZ office found that price guarantees or promises can help savvy shoppers save money.

Kirsty uses price guarantees frequently. On a shopping trip for a new Insinkerator food waste disposal unit, she looked at the specials on offer at Harvey Norman but bought the unit at Mitre 10 where she could get a further 15% off the special price.

Bee was also on the hunt for an Insinkerator and got 15% off at Bunnings.

“We saved a few hundred dollars!”

Miranda’s husband will always price check when visiting Bunnings and get them to match prices if there is a cheaper deal elsewhere.

“He uses his phone to search for the product and keeps the link open so he can easily show the operator. He has never had any issues with it.”

Aneleise has used the price promise at both Briscoes and Rebel Sports. However, she has noted the stores have reduced the timeframe within which you can claim the lower price, from 30 days down to 14 days.

Belinda has used the price promise at Rebel Sport, too. She had been told by a staff member that what she was buying was going on special soon.

To take advantage of price guarantees, it helps to check prices across retailers beforehand or do a quick search while instore to see if a retailer is offering the same item for less.

Are price guarantees a marketing gimmick?

While useful for savvy shoppers, price guarantees are also a marketing tool for big retailers.

Amy, a test writer at Consumer, said some stores stock brands that no others do. So finding an identical item elsewhere can be difficult.

Marketing expert Bodo Lang agreed, saying large retailers are likely to have special arrangements with some of their suppliers, so they stock a specific type of product that no other retailer sells in Aotearoa.

“In these cases, it’s easy for them to promise the lowest price because they know that no other retailer can legally sell that exact product.”

Over the ditch, Bunnings was caught out putting price guarantees on its own home-branded products, which aren’t available anywhere else. In Aotearoa, that could be a potential breach of the Fair Trading Act.

Bunnings have clarified how the price guarantee applies to its home and exclusive brands with Consumer NZ, saying, “we train our team members on the application of the Price Guarantee and empower them to take a reasonable, 'common-sense', customer-first approach in each case, applying our Price Guarantee to similar or ‘like- for- like' items even if they are not identical.”

Retailers also use price guarantees to signal to consumers that they have the best prices, said Lang.

“When consumers think of stores that offer competitive prices, the retailer offering the price guarantee is likely to be the first that comes to mind.”

Lang said most shoppers will use the price guarantee for big purchases, but even then, some people don’t bother because it’s not worth the time or effort.

“Consumers trade off between decision accuracy and efficiency. As a result, no one checks prices for every product they buy … retailers realise it’s only a small proportion of consumer that actually use the guarantees.”