Department of Consumer Affairs investigates fake Black Friday sales with fines of up to €100,000

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is tightening supervision to avoid possible fraud with “false sales” The coming weeks will feature juicy shopping incentives. In particular, the portfolio headed by Pablo Bustindui has strengthened its price monitoring system to prevent businesses from engaging in practices such as raising prices to so-called Black Friday and then reduce them to the original price.

This day is which It is celebrated this coming Friday, but in practice it lasts throughout November.– the golden age of consumption begins. The period – from this week until the January sales, including Christmas – which concentrates almost 30% of sales in the non-food retail sector and during which Spaniards will spend on average 967 euros between shopping and holidays, 240 euros more than in the previous period . exercise.

According to research conducted by KPMG and Appinio, Estimated spending on Black Friday alone is €345, which is €40 more than last year.. The numbers vary depending on the analysis performed. For example, Miravia, which estimates that 85% of Spaniards plan to make a purchase this Black Friday, expects the average spend per person to be 150 euros, which is 53% higher than a month of normal business (98 euros).

SANCTIONS

Given the expected wave of purchases, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs warns to be especially careful with possible purchases. bad practices

especially in the field of online sales and products such as home appliances, electronics, sports or cosmetics, which are currently among the most in demand. “According to this commandment, these practices These can be classified as serious violations with a fine of up to 100,000 euros.“an amount that can be exceeded until it reaches four to six times the illicit benefit received,” the ministry points out. In fact, according to the organization’s statement, it has already Sanctions worth €90,000 were imposed on two e-commerce operators for conducting misleading sales during the last Black Friday. in November 2023 and has open cases against six other major commercial operators for similar practices in their online sales. “An investigation last year found that more than 20% of the products analyzed were non-compliant and that 60% of the companies investigated had committed this fraudulent practice,” they note.

In this sense, Consumption remembers that whenever discounted products are offered, the previous price must be clearly stated and that it “must be the lowest that would have been applied to identical products in the previous 30 days.”

CONSUMER HABITS

Despite differences in spending forecasts, experts agree that Spanish consumers’ purchases will be more measured and rational this year. That is, they will be used to access products that are truly needed or directly to promote Christmas shopping. Despite moderate inflation, high prices will continue to be observed these days, with 85% of Spaniards planning to make a purchase. But the expectation of proposals is quite high. 56% of those surveyed by KPMG expect discounts to be better this year than last, with fashion, restaurants and food being the categories with the highest purchase intent, although travel and electronics are growing the most. However, Kantar recalls that in recent years, “the weight in both spending and volume of discounted goods” has been decreasing: the former has grown from 32.6% to 29.7%; and in the second, from 28.9% to 26.8% between 2021 and 2023, the latest year analyzed by the firm. “Several factors can be deduced from this. On the one hand, there is a tendency to buy less and only when necessary, that is, costs are rationalized. On the other hand, the growing presence of low-cost retailers is contributing to deflation. discounts due to our own business model,” experts point out.

MEANS OF PAYMENT

Analysts also warn of the risk of seeking financing for purchases at this time of year. According to data collected by the specialized comparator Kelisto.es, November was the month with the highest volume of consumer loans requested by Spaniards in the last five years – with the exception of a month marked by an increase in the savings rate in 2020. due to the pandemic – an average amount of 3.135 million euros. “Personal loans are the cheapest option to finance Christmas spending, with credit cards charging more than twice as much interest on average,” he said. They indicate AND give an example: a user who wanted to finance the expenses of the upcoming holidays (1000 euros) for 12 months would pay an average interest rate of 7.44% TIN on a consumer loan, whereas he would have to assume a TIN of 18.12. % with a credit card: that is, you would pay 144% more.

In practice, this means that buying in installments with a credit card will mean paying the bank a total of 100.85 euros in interest, compared to the 40.75 euros that would be paid with a consumer loan.