Today, the European Commission and consumer protection authorities from 23 Member States as well as Iceland and Norway, released the results of a screening ('sweep') of online discounts during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
' Sweeps' are coordinated by the European Commission and carried out simultaneously by national enforcement authorities. The objective of this sweep was to assess whether discounts and pricing practices during major sales events, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, were compliant with EU consumer law.
Consumer protection authorities checked 314 online traders and found that 30% referenced discounts incorrectly during such sales. Under the Price Indications Directive , when a business announces a discount, the price of reference must be the lowest price applied in the past 30 days.
Authorities also assessed other sales tactics that may influence consumers' purchasing decisions. Out of the traders screened:
- 36% attempted to add optional items to consumers' baskets. Of those, four in ten did so without clearly requesting consent;
- 34% displayed price comparisons. 6 in 10 of those did not clearly explain the reference for their price comparison.
- 18% used pressure-selling techniques, such as claiming a product is running out or using countdown timers. The CPC identified that more than half of these cases were misleading. A pressure-selling technique can be considered misleading, for example, when its claim of scarcity is fake.
- 10% used "drip pricing", where extra fees or added late in the purchasing process, such as shipping or service fees.
Adding items without the consumer's consent, displaying prices in a misleading way, claiming falsely that a product is running out, or hiding extra fees until the end of the process are illegal practices under EU consumer law. Following the sweep, national consumer authorities may take action against the businesses concerned.
Background
The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) is a network of national authorities responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws. Under the coordination of the European Commission, they collaborate to tackle infringements of consumer law occurring in the Single Market.
Traders' obligations with regards to price reductions are laid down in the Price Indication Directive . The promotion of prices are also regulated by the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive .
The following EU Member States participated in the sweep: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Iceland and Norway also took part to the sweep.
