Kogan Gets Caught Comparing Itself to Itself

Mal and Alex are back this week still hoarse from two big days on the podcast stage at Online Retailer and the ORIAS — congrats to The Iconic on a first-time Online Retailer of the Year win, and to Ben Hare for taking out industry recognition. From there it's a genuinely wide-ranging one: a AI-authenticity reckoning hitting everything from guitar strings to chart-topping AI covers, a Shopify platform shift that's quietly displacing freelance dev work, and a healthy dose of FY27 dread.The story with the most teeth this week is Kogan, who an ABC News investigation found has been running a second site, Exclusive Brands, selling identical products at a median $100 more than Kogan.com — inflating the "was" price it then discounts against. Kogan denies wrongdoing, but with the ACCC increasingly active on misleading price comparisons, Mal and Alex dig into where legitimate multi-brand pricing ends and where this starts.BCF's giveaway-only Fisho's Onesie has entries closing this Friday, and it's a masterclass in high-shareability, low-budget campaign design.Shopify's Horizon theme rebuild is being optimised for its Sidekick AI assistant first and humans second — 20% of merchants are already using it, racking up 25 million edits.D'Addario is fending off accusations its new string-demo video used AI-generated music, part of a bigger reckoning playing out across Spotify's AI-track purge and Australia's AI-covered #1 single.Kogan's alleged self-comparison pricing model is under scrutiny, with former ACCC chair Rod Sims flagging it as a case worth investigating.Mal shares how his own clients are handling price rises with upfront comms and subscriber grandfathering — the opposite play to Kogan's.Myer's full-year update shows underlying growth barely moved once the Apparel Brands acquisition is stripped out, against a backdrop of consumer confidence down roughly 20 points.Bricks-and-mortar preference has swung hard, from 41% to 68% of shoppers, as buyers chase the trust and tactility online can't offer.Virtual try-on tech is fast becoming table stakes for online eyewear, and Alex is on the hunt for an Australian Warby Parker equivalent.FY27 is shaping up heavier — CGT changes, tax hikes and a US tariff rise from 10% to 12.5% are all on operators' radars.A respectful shout-out to Jackie and the Black Milk team, who've had to move onshore manufacturing to China, affecting 15 local jobs.Mal's heading to eTail next, Alex is off to Auckland for the Unified Commerce Assembly in a month.