With Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas sales approaching, online businesses can expect increased customer activity. These periods offer strong sales opportunities, but they also bring additional legal obligations.
Seasonal promotions often include price changes, advertising, and disclaimers, all of which must comply with EU rules. This article highlights the key legal points businesses should consider to ensure their seasonal sales remain compliant.
Promotion T&Cs
Before launching a promotion, make sure you have terms and conditions (T&Cs) that clearly set out the conditions for customers. These can be added to your existing T&Cs or provided as a separate set of terms. Either approach is fine, as long as all significant information is covered. What counts as “significant” will depend on the promotion. In general, any detail that could affect a customer’s understanding of the offer is important, such as:
- How to participate and eligibility: explain how customers can take part, including any requirements like proof of purchase or minimum spending thresholds.
- Type and nature of the promotion: unless obvious, specify whether it’s a discount, bundle offer, giveaway, or other type of promotion.
- Restrictions or limitations: state any restrictions, such as geographic limits, specific products covered by the promotion, or other conditions. If you use a general set of T&Cs for multiple promotions, make sure it directs customers to where the specific details for each offer can be found.
- Start and end dates: state when the promotion begins and ends.
- Product availability: provide details about stock levels or other limitations that could impact availability.
Write your T&Cs in simple, clear language to make them easy for consumers to understand, and make sure they are easily accessible on your website and in any promotional materials.
Display correct before-and-after pricing
In the EU, traders offering discounts must display the “prior price” of the item. This is the lowest price the product was sold for during the 30 days before the discount was announced, not the most recently charged price.
Any price reduction must be based on the product’s prior price, which is the lowest price the product was sold for in the 30 days before the discount. For example, if a smartphone cost €400 on 1 November and then increased to €450 on 15 November, and you launch a 15% discount on 17 November, you must use €400 as the prior price.
Businesses are also prohibited from increasing prices right before a sales period to make discounts appear larger. Regulators review pricing history, and there must be a genuine record of the product being sold at the higher price. To help show compliance, businesses are strongly advised to keep clear records that support how their pricing promotions were calculated.
Exceptions to the prior price rule include certain items, such as perishable goods or products introduced to the market less than 30 days ago.
Highlight total prices with transparency
Always display the total price upfront, including VAT, delivery fees, and any other charges. If some costs can’t be calculated immediately, explain how they will be determined, as failure to do so could mean consumers don’t have to pay undisclosed charges.
For example, if an item costs €50 including VAT, and delivery is €5, the total price of €55 should be shown clearly. If delivery costs vary based on location, explain that upfront.
Avoid misleading or ambiguous promotional practices
Avoid using any tactics that could mislead customers, such as claiming low stock when you have plenty available or overstating discounts. For example, do not say an item is “almost sold out” unless that is genuinely the case. The same applies to discount claims. If you advertise “up to X% off,” a reasonable number of products in the offer must actually be discounted by the full X%. It isn’t enough for only one or two low-value items to carry the highest discount. If the maximum discount applies to only a small fraction of the products, the claim may be considered misleading.
“Sitewide” or “storewide” claims must only be used when the discount applies to all products. If some items are excluded, you must clearly state the exclusions to ensure customers are not misled.
Don’t impose unlawful restrictions on consumer guarantees
Online businesses must not restrict mandatory consumer rights or give misleading information about customers’ entitlements to a repair, refund or replacement. Examples include stating “no refunds” on sale or specialised items, imposing stricter time limits for returning faulty goods, or suggesting that faults must be handled only through a manufacturer’s warranty. These practices are not allowed under EU consumer protection rules.
What happens if a business does not comply?
Businesses that fail to follow EU pricing and consumer protection rules can face enforcement action from national consumer authorities across the EU. This may include investigations, orders to change misleading practices, financial penalties, or in serious cases, criminal sanctions
National consumer authorities actively monitors compliance and investigates suspected breaches.
How can Logan & Partners assist?
If you’d like to discuss your promotional strategy, reach out and book a free initial consultation.
