How deal scoring works
“40% off” means nothing if the “was” price was never real. KitLoot scores every deal from 0 to 100 against what the item has actually sold for in Australia, and shows its working on every product page.
The four parts of a score
| Component | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Price history | 45% | Where today's price sits among every price we've recorded for this item over the last 365 days. The cheapest it's been all year scores full points; an ordinary day scores few. |
| Vs. other Australian retailers | 20% | How today's price compares with the median of other in-stock offers for the same size and colour. When fewer than two retailers stock it, we leave this out and share its weight across the others — we never quietly count it as zero. |
| All-time and seasonal low | 20% | A bonus for matching or beating the 365-day low, and a smaller one for a 90-day low. Seasonal gear is compared like with like — a June ski-jacket price against previous Junes. |
| Discount vs. trusted RRP | 15% | The percentage below the recommended retail price — but only when we trust that RRP (see below). Otherwise this counts for nothing. |
Price history carries the most weight on purpose. Australia has fewer outdoor retailers than larger markets, so many products are only sold by one or two stores — an item's own track record is the most reliable signal we have.
What the labels mean
- Exceptional 90+ — rarely this cheap. If you need it, now is a good time.
- Strong 70–89 — a genuinely good price.
- Fair 45–69 — a modest saving; it's been cheaper before.
- Skip below 45 — a normal price, whatever the banner says. Consider watching it instead.
When we don't trust the RRP
We work out an item's RRP from what retailers commonly list it at. If we haven't seen it actually sell at or near that price in the last 12 months, we mark the RRP as unverified: we don't show a strikethrough “was” price, we don't quote a percentage off, and the discount part of the score is zero.
This is the same standard the ACCC applies to retailers' own “was/now” claims, and we hold ourselves to it.
Other things that affect a score
- Limited history. Items we've tracked for under 60 days have their score capped and labelled, because we can't yet tell a sale from the usual price.
- Thin stock. A great price on only the smallest and largest sizes scores lower.
- Stale prices. Every price shows when we last checked it. If a retailer hasn't been checked recently, we flag it rather than presenting it as current.
Delivery costs
Offers are ranked by estimated total including delivery, based on each retailer's published shipping policy. Where a retailer doesn't publish enough to estimate it, we say “delivery not included” rather than implying it's free.
What never affects a score
Whether we earn a commission. Some retailers pay us nothing on clearance items — which are often the best deals — and those deals rank exactly where their prices put them. See our affiliate disclosure.