2023-05-31 13:01:17
Amazon is one of the platforms in question, alongside ASOS, Cdiscount, E.Leclerc, La Redoute, Rue du Commerce, Veepee and Zalando. Michelangelo Oprandi / Adobe Stock
Only 3.4% of the more than 6,000 ads analyzed by the association “correspond to real promotions operated by sellers”, she criticizes.
As the summer sales approach, watch out for fake promotions on e-commerce platforms. A UFC-Que Choisir study, published this Wednesday, sheds light on this dishonest albeit widespread practice. After analyzing a sample of more than 6,000 advertisements displaying a crossed-out price, the consumer association asserts that “only 3.4% of them correspond to real promotions operated by sellers“, in accordance with the European directive called “Omnibuscame into force a year ago.
A directive which requires that the display of a price reduction be made on the basis of the price “the lowest charged by the trader for all consumers during the last thirty days preceding the application of the price reduction“. Faced with the abuses observed, UFC-Que Choisir has announced that it is filing a complaint against eight e-commerce sites (Amazon, ASOS, Cdiscount, E.Leclerc, La Redoute, Rue du Commerce, Veepee and Zalando) for “misleading business practices».
In detail, the consumer association notes that, to circumvent the regulations in force, in 96.6% of the advertisements studied, the e-commerce sites “display promotions based not on price reductions over the last 30 days, but on the concept of so-called “comparison” prices“. A concept that gives platforms more leeway, the legislation surrounding it being “imprecise», note l’association.
Read alsoFake promos: why are they so common every year?
Inflated manipulations and reductions
A blur “exploited on a large scale by professionals, as evidenced by the plethora of claims on the market“, criticizes the UFC-Que Choisir, citing the mentions “Advised sale price» or «PVC», «Originally», «Old price” or “Average Marketplace Price». Pis, «if this multitude of claims were not enough to confuse consumers, merchants present these comparison prices exactly as the discount prices“, deplores the association in its study, accompanying its demonstration of a screenshot of a search result for a laptop on Amazon. “Fake promotions” are presented in exactly the same visual style as a regulation-compliant discount ad.
Beyond the presentation,comparison prices are often calculated in a less transparent and objective way than for price reductions“, underlines the UFC-Que Choisir. Specifically, theirdefinition is often buried in the general conditions of sale or simply non-existent». «When this is available, it is frequently based on data exclusively held by the merchant. […] In cases where it can be verified, the seller sometimes even manipulates the comparison price, knowingly choosing the one that allows the highest discount to be displayed. !“, develops the association. It is therefore difficult, if not impossible, for the consumer to understand what these crossed out prices really cover.
Thus, these schemes allow e-merchants to inflate the discounts displayed. On the advertisements analyzed, for the reduction prices in accordance with the regulations, the average reduction amounts to 6%, against 26.5% for the comparison prices, notes the UFC-Que Choisir. In addition to filing a complaint against eight platforms, the association reports having seized the European Commission to ask it “to strictly prohibit“all this system of comparison prices, which UFC-Que Choisir believes is used only for”artificially inflate the reference price and make the consumer believe in a real promotion».
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