SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

FINALLY, Westfield Sydney is open for business, the CBD mall promises to change the face of Australian retail shopping.  Taking Sydney onto a new competitive plane, firmly taking on Melbourne as Australia's shopping capital.  Take a look for yourself with various entrances from Pitt Street and Market Street

Best shopping

To be found in Sydney and Melbourne, both are home to a largest portions of the Australian fashion industry — the country's shopping cool zones. The major Australian department store chains (David Jones, Meyer, and Grace Brothers) are in both cities, while most of the interesting boutiques and cool shops are in the Sydney suburbs of Paddington, Surrey Hills, Bondi, and Glebe and the Melbourne suburbs of Toorak, Prahan, Richmond, South Yarra, and St Kilda. Being the more cosmopolitan city, Sydney's shopping caters to broader tastes, budgets, and fashion fads. The city centre has lots of designer stores and arcades especially in - The Rocks. While the beach suburbs of Bondi, Maroubra, and Manly have dozens of surf shops with the latest gear.

Department Stores and shopping centres David Jones and Myer are the biggest department store chains and you can find a store in most parts of Australia. In these stores you can buy everything from clothes to electronics.

Westfield is a shopping centre that can be found all over Australia as well. Westfield offers a big variety of different stores where you can buy clothes, electronics, and accessories.

Aboriginal Art

Artwork produced by some of the many talented Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders is a popular souvenir. You'll find more local, original work as you head further north towards the Top End.

How do I know it’s authentic? Most work from small country shops and cultural centres will be authentic. In larger stores and tourist shops be sure to look for an attached Label of Authenticity.

Cheap shopping in Sydney

From op-shops, to markets, to factory outlets, you don’t need to spend big to find something cute in Sydney.

Op-shops (or Opportunity Shops) sell unique second-hand items for ridiculously low prices. Usually run by charities, op-shops are brimming with everything from clothes and accessories to books and even kitchen utensils or other items for the home. You’ll find op-shops in most shopping precincts, and generally, more ‘style-conscious’ areas such as Paddington and Rozelle stock funkier items. Paddington also has a few second-hand or vintage stores that are not run by charities. These shops still offer good deals. Stores such as Cash Converters are also worth a visit if you are looking to buy quality second-hand goods. 

Sydney also has a variety of markets to explore as well.

Factory outlet shopping

Alexandria and Surry Hills in Sydney have an assorted range of factory outlets. Here you can pick up quality, designer goods for less cash. To visit a major shopping mall that is full of factory outlets, head to Direct Factory Outlet (DFO) at Homebush Bay. DFO is where you can find cheap clothes, shoes, and homeware. There are up to 70% discounts in some DFO outlets.

DFO basically consists of quality stock that is either discontinued, from the previous season, or just special stock. Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre is a similar option. Located at Birkenhead Point in Drummoyne, this outlet centre is brimming with heavily discounted designer goods.

Further afield Harbourtown has centres in Adelaide, Surfers Paradise, and other regional centres.