- The Omnibus Directive, the provisions of which entered into force on January 1, 2023, aimed to increase the transparency of prices and promotions. Previously, the consumer himself had to carefully monitor prices to verify the real value of the discount offered by the store.
- Today, sellers offering products both in-store and online must provide the lowest product price from the last 30 days with each promotion and discount.
- The Consumer Federation wants the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection to investigate the activities of platforms from third countries in this respect.
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Will the Omnibus Directive rationalize purchases? We don't have good news
– The legislator's intention is obvious: to reduce the number of cases of unfair manipulation techniques. We see from everyday practice that many sellers draw customer attention to the product by offering promotions that do not actually exist. Thanks to the introduction of the so-called omnibus price, i.e. indication of the lowest price from the last 30 days, the customer clearly sees how much
is the actual amount of the reduction. Unfortunately, there are still absurd cases when a store offers a promotion and the omnibus price clearly indicates that the product has actually become more expensive – comments Monika Kosińska-Pyter, president of the Consumer Federation.
Poles support the new regulations
The Consumer Federation analyzed offers appearing on online sales platforms in terms of the implementation of the provisions of the Omnibus Directive in Poland. The final report states that although not all companies immediately complied with the new guidelines, most of them have already changed the practices questioned by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection in the proceedings initiated by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and have adapted the way
informing about price promotions in line with the provisions of the Omnibus Directive.
The Consumer Federation also explains in its report that sales platforms operating in Poland had little time to adapt to the new regulations – only two weeks after the regulations entered into force. Additionally, they could not prepare well for this in advance, because the Polish regulations introduced as a result of the implementation of the Omnibus Directive differ from those found in the law adopted in Brussels. Entities implementing the changes therefore had to rely on explanations from the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection issued after the regulations came into force, and not on the guidelines of the European Commission as in other EU countries.
– Today, online sellers have many methods at their disposal that they can use to effectively attract the attention of buyers. We have various types of discount tools, such as coupons, clubs, other loyalty programs and bundling. Therefore, using manipulative techniques or creating artificial promotions is not only reprehensible, but also completely different from the current market realities and customer needs – notes Monika Kosińska-Pyter.
Chinese giants under the microscope
However, the report of the Consumer Federation shows that despite the undertaken warning actions, entities from outside the European Union that were not previously subject to inspection still did not comply with the provisions of EU regulations. The organization's experts point to Asian e-commerce giants, which, according to the organization, have shortcomings and unacceptable practices. In addition to the lack of an omnibus price for most products, there are also unfair ways of exerting purchasing pressure, such as deliberately unintuitive promotions or countdowns on the website, suggesting the need to hurry when deciding to purchase the product.
The Consumer Federation submits an application to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection
Such irregularities were detected during the analysis of the Shein and Temu platforms.
What is puzzling is the fact that all available products are presented as being covered by some type of promotion, discount, "hot" offer, limited offer or almost sold out. This model of operation is prohibited, describe experts from the Consumer Federation.
Therefore, the organization submits a notice to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection asking it to look into these practices.
– We analyzed almost 1,600 offers on these platforms. Our experts found situations in which good sales practices could be violated and EU regulations were not followed. On this basis, we asked the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection to analyze this issue – emphasizes Michał Herde, member of the management board of the Consumer Federation.
