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Back in Black: Selling in the Season of Goodwill
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Back in Black | Selling in the Season of Goodwill
Back in Black Selling in the Season of Goodwill Black Friday, unlike Black Wednesday or Black Monday, earned its name for a good reason (or so one version of story goes): back in the 1980s, US retailers began referring to the day after Thanksgiving as being the one on which their bank balances finally went ‘into the black’ after spending the first eleven months of the year in the red. America’s day of frenetic discount shopping is now well established over here, as UK retailers benefit from a huge injection of cash while customers rush to secure the best promotional deals.
Michael Edgar Solicitor | Commercial michael.edgar@laytons.com +44 (0)20 7842 8000
Simon Baker Partner | Commercial simon.baker@laytons.com +44 (0)20 7842 8000
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Back in Black | Selling in the Season of Goodwill
Amidst the hype and the promises of bargains, the consumer body Which? has recently warned about Black Friday deals that are potentially misleading, and in breach of consumer protection rules. Although many retailers have refuted some of their claims, there is clearly a degree of confusion over what can and cannot be said when selling goods.
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Make proper comparisons: Guidance from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (now the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) (DBEIS) provides good practice for retailers making promotional offers. This states: •
If a discount price is quoted, the previous higher price should also be displayed. The higher price should be made clear to the consumer (for example, by stating ‘regular price’). This price should be a ‘genuine retail price’ (that is, one at which you might reasonably expect that you could sell a
We highlight some of the key points for sales promotions to help your business navigate the rules and guidelines.
significant number of goods). •
The previous price should be the immediately previous price, rather than a historic price (namely, one last offered more than six months ago), which may have been higher.
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The previous price should also normally be the most recent price that was available for at least 28 consecutive days.
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Offers must be genuine: Where promotions are advertised as special offers, the retailer must have an intention to sell the product at a higher price in the future. The offer must be genuinely ‘special’ (or ‘introductory’), and should be time-limited.
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Advertising codes of practice: When providing information about prices and offers in marketing communications, retailers should follow the BCAP Code (for broadcast advertising) or the CAP Code (for non-broadcasting advertising).
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Back in Black | Selling in the Season of Goodwill
For example, the CAP Code requires retailers not to mislead by omission, undue emphasis or distortion in relation to pricing. This may be relevant for offers where a previous sale price is given, since an unclear reference might lead the customer to consider the saving for a particular product to be greater than it actually is. Earlier this month, CAP issued some advice aimed at Black Friday sales, to help ensure that retailers avoid misleading customers and breaching the rules. Its advice includes: •
Savings claims, such as ‘60% off’, ‘up to 70% off’, or ‘was £100, now £80’, must not mislead by being inaccurate or exaggerating the savings that can be made.
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Where ads quote an RRP, this must not significantly differ from the price at which the product is generally sold across the market – any savings claims against an RRP have to be based on the price that the customer would generally have to pay.
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When using the phrase ‘up to X% off’, at least 10% of products should be available with the maximum saving. If a store advertises ‘up to 30% off’, therefore, at least 10% of those products should be available with a 30% reduction.
Sector Retail & Hospitality
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Consumers are likely to understand the use of ‘everything’ or ’all’ in ads to mean literally everything or all. If certain restrictions or exclusions apply, this should be made clear by the promotional wording.
Enjoy the Christmas shopping!
Experience Commercial & Corporate
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