70% of discounts announced in the 2023 campaign by e-commerce operators turned out to be false

Are the deals that e-commerce platforms launch during Black Friday really good deals? Not in at least 7 out of 10 products, presumably at a discount, warns the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and the 2030 Agenda. According to the price monitoring carried out by the Internet Consumer Observatory – a project of the department led by Pablo Bustinduy, launched through the General Directorate of Consumer Affairs – during Black Friday 2023, 70% of discounts announced by e-commerce operators were false or misleading after monitoring prices for 800 products in 19 retailers from September 23 to December 20, 2023.

He Article 20 of the Law on Regulation of Retail Trade states that whenever goods are offered at a reduced price, the previous price must be clearly indicated on each item so that a proper comparison can be made. In this case, the law also states that The reference price for establishing the discount must be the lowest price that would apply to identical products during the previous 30 days.

However, the Observatory’s research showed that 70% of products advertised at a discount did not meet this rule. Instead the operators Grocery prices raised ahead of Black Friday to later reduce them and mark them as discounted items, even though many of them cost the same as at other times of the year. In other cases, the previous price was simply not indicated or Other prices that are not used as reference prices.such as retail price or suggested price.

Another similar illegal practice is raise prices in previous days, and then offer the buyer a discount coupon, creating the feeling of getting a better price when In 65% of cases the reduction was false. In addition, the Internet Consumer Observatory also condemns the spread of misleading information and false timing opportunities. When do these practices occur? For example when an offer is stated to be valid only for 24 hours but is then withheld. These types of false claims contribute to compulsive buying and have been found in 50% of these types of claims.

Such commercial practices are considered unfair to consumers, the ministry recalls, and constitute an offense that can be classified as a serious offense with a fine of up to 100,000 euros, an amount that can be exceeded and is four to six times the illegal benefit received, in accordance with the General Law on the Protection of Consumers and Users.

The Ministry of Industry and Consumer Affairs has already fined two large e-commerce operators for deceiving consumers with “false discounts.” during Black Friday 2023which involve raising the prices of various items before Black Friday and then lowering them to the final price. The department, led by Pablo Bustindui, continues open disciplinary proceedings against six other operators for the same actions and warns that it will again carry out false transactions while strengthening its price monitoring systems.