Kmart has a legion of loyal fans who are whipped into a frenzy each time a new item drops – but are they all actually worth frothing over?

In particular, Kmart’s own brand, Anko, is renown for affordable electrical items, everything from fridges to fans, washing machines to air fryers. Consumer advocacy organisation CHOICE has taken a deep dive into Kmart’s products and revealed which are the best buys, and which to avoid.

They put to the test whitegoods, baby and kids items and even period undies – so you don’t have to. And here are the results:

Kmart Best Buys

Kmart Pedestal Fan

According to CHOICE, Kmart’s pedestal fans are a great alternative to more expensive, brand name options.

“We’ve tested two of Kmart’s fans and while they both performed well (especially for the price!), performance does vary by model, so make sure you check our reviews before you buy,” CHOICE explained.

Kmart Iron

With irons ranging in price vastly, it’s good to know that a Kmart cheapie can do the job just as well as some of the pricier brand names.

CHOICE tested a few Kmart irons ranging between $15 and $45 and found they performed well.

Kmart Rice Cooker

Kmart’s $14 rice cooker got the tick of approval, scoring 81% in CHOICE’s tests, which, according to the organisation ‘emphatically’ beat models that costs many times more.

Kmart Microwave

The $52 Kmart Anko Microwave was another winner, with the experts ranking it as excellent for cooking performance and giving perfect scores for cooking veggies and defrosting mince.

“If you are looking for a basic compact microwave that reheats well and is great for cooking and defrosting, then the Anko 20-litre model is all you need,” said CHOICE kitchen expert, Fiona Mair. “It is, however, only a 700W microwave, so reheating times will be a little slower than for a 900W or 1000W microwave.”

Kmart Food Processor

The $75 Kmart Anko Food Processor also wowed the panel of experts.

“The Kmart food processor is a very good performer that’s great for chopping, slicing, mixing and emulsifying,” said Fiona.

“It is a compact unit so it’s easier to store, and all blades are stored in the unit. It is however relatively noisy in operation.”

Kmart Digital Blender

For $41 the experts were suitably impressed with this blender’s capabilities – it even outclassed a $2200 model.

It attracted a 90% performance score – nothing to be sneezed at!

Kmart Cookware

Kmart’s cheap and cheerful but always on-trend cookware also got a nod.

“Kmart’s 24cm frypan costs just $18 but performed as well as more expensive brands,” the experts said.

“But don’t just pick up any old 24cm frypan when you hit Kmart: the Kmart Anko 24cm Aluminium 3 Layer Non-Stick Frypan ($14) failed to sizzle in our tests, scoring a lukewarm 54%.

“Similarly, Kmart’s cast iron casserole pot ($30) was up there with big-name brands such as Le Creuset, Chasseur and Staub when we tested casserole pots and Dutch ovens.”

Kmart Pie Maker And Slow Cookers

Kmart’s famed $39 pie maker is still going strong in the popularity stakes with plenty of Mouths of Mums recipes dedicated to the appliance.

“This is a fun little appliance,” said Fiona. “It’s easy to use and gives good results, cooking four pies fairly evenly to lightly golden in eight minutes.

“It takes five minutes to preheat, which is quicker than an oven, and, once the pies are cooked, you can simply pop them out with a spatula.”

Three of Kmart’s slow cookers were also put to the test.

“They may lack the features of some more expensive brands like Sunbeam, Breville and Cuisinart, but Kmart’s slow cookers perform quite well. And at $27 for the 3L, $20 for the 5L and $39 for the 6.5L digital slow cooker, those prices are hard to beat.”

Kmart Playpen

Kmart’s $135 Playpen came under the scrutiny of the CHOICE experts, and they were impressed.

“(It) is one of only a few playpens we tested that actually passed key safety requirements. (There’s no Australian standard for playpens, but we test to international standards and in-house methods based on existing Australian standards for other baby products.)

“It’s also easy to set up and pack down, and comes with a latched gate so you won’t crick your back when reaching over the fence to pick up a heavy toddler.”

Kmart Period Undies

The $12 a pair period undies from Kmart also impressed the experts.

“At just $12 a pair, Kmart’s period undies are some of the cheapest on the market. When we tested their bikini and full brief period undies, our triallists were generally pretty happy with their performance.

“The full brief was the pick of the two styles, with 15 out of 16 triallists reporting that they were leak-free, with 12 out of the 16 rating them good, very good or excellent overall.”

Kmart Products To Avoid

Kmart Heater

CHOICE hasn’t been fond of Kmart’s heaters in the past and the trend has continued this year.

The $59 oil column heater failed to heat a small room by 10°C in two hours, and took almost an hour to raise the temperature by 5°C.

“Some of the poorest performing electric heaters we’ve ever seen at CHOICE have come from Kmart,” said CHOICE director of testing and reviews Matthew Steen.

“Being cheap doesn’t have to mean poor performance, which we see time and again in many of our product reviews, so it’s disappointing that Kmart continues to deliver inferior products in this category. Several models from other brands cost only marginally more but score a lot better.”

Kmart Fridge

We’re also being told by CHOICE to give Kmart’s fridges a hard pass, including its new 203L top-mount fridge-freezer, which is priced at $429.

“This fridge might be suited for a small studio apartment or office if you don’t need to keep much in it at any one time, or as a small second fridge in the garage or granny flat,” said CHOICE whitegood expert Ashley Iredale.

Kmart Washing Machine

Unfortunately more whitegoods didn’t pass the buy test from CHOICE, including Kmart’s new washing machines.

“Kmart’s 8kg-capacity top-loader may be cheap to buy but it wastes a huge amount of water when the normal cycle is used, which means it will likely cost you more in electricity bills than another model over its lifetime,” said Ashley.

“To be priced this low, it’s likely also made with cheaper parts and materials, with less consideration for how easy it will be to repair or how long it should last.”

Kmart Vacuum Cleaners

Kmarts vacuum cleaners, which include upright, bagged and bagless models range in price from $50 to $150.

But according to CHOICE, they just don’t perform.

“The upright, bagged and bagless models we most recently tested were among the lowest scoring when it comes to giving your carpet a thorough clean. And the stick vacuums didn’t fare much better.”

Kmart Air Fryer

Kmart’s Twin Air Fryer ($129) caused quite the stir when it was released, but according to CHOICE, it’s a fizzer.

“Not only did it receive a low score in our testing, but the Kmart Anko air fryer is also fairly large and heavy, and not very easy to use,” said CHOICE kitchen expert, Fiona Mair.

Kmart Bassinet

Another no-go according to CHOICE is Kmart’s $99 bassinet.

“Unlike some other baby products, there are no Australian safety standards for bassinets that manufacturers must adhere to, which is why some potentially dangerous products still make it onto our shelves.

The $99 Kmart Anko bassinet is no exception – it got a CHOICE Expert Rating of just 40% due to the lack of continuous breathable zones around the edge of the bassinet, which could be a suffocation risk.”

Which Kmart products do you love and which do you loathe? Let us know in the comments below.