Retail Ireland: Monthly Update Changes to legislation on price indication

JUST before Christmas, the Government introduced very significant new legislation governing how retailers must conduct price promotions. For many retailers, it will involve big changes to their current sales practices.

The Price Indication Directive was unexpectedly introduced alongside the Consumer Rights Act 2022 on Tuesday, November 29. Among a range of measures, it aims to ban raising product prices immediately prior to a sale in order to provide the impression of misleadingly large discounts. Any business advertising a discount is now required by law to display the previous price, which must be the lowest price applied in the previous 30 days.

This piece of legislation has been agreed at EU level and was due to be applied in Ireland. However, the new rules, which have immediate effect, have created a major problem for many businesses, which are simply unable to makes the necessary adjustments to their systems and business plans over a short period of time. For many companies, these changes will take months to implement.

Retail Ireland has raised these serious concerns with both the Department of Enterprise, as well as the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), which is tasked with enforcing the new rules.

The Department has acknowledged that the new law may create short-term challenges for certain retailers to adapt their systems. The CCPC has indicated it will apply a practical approach when it comes to carrying out its statutory functions and is working to raise awareness of the regulations in the retail sector.