- The Omnibus Directive, which came into force on January 1, 2023, was intended 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 who offer products both in-store and online must provide the lowest price for the product 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 intention of the legislator is obvious: to reduce the number of cases of unfair manipulation techniques. We see from everyday practice that many sellers draw the customer's attention to the product by offering promotions that do not exist in reality. Thanks to the introduction of the so-called omnibus price, i.e. indicating the lowest price from the last 30 days, the customer clearly sees how much
is the actual amount of the discount. 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 Federation of Consumers.
Poles support the new regulations
The Federation of Consumers analyzed offers appearing on online sales platforms in terms of implementing 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 that were questioned in the proceedings initiated by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, and have adapted the way
information on price promotions to the provisions arising from the Omnibus Directive.
The Consumer Federation in its report explains that sales platforms operating in Poland had little time to adapt to the new regulations – only two weeks after the regulations came into force. In addition, 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. Therefore, entities implementing the changes had to rely on the explanations of 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 to effectively attract the attention of buyers. We have various discounting tools such as coupons, clubs, other loyalty programs or cross-selling. Therefore, using manipulation 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 scrutiny
However, the report of the Federation of Consumers shows that despite the actions taken to warn, entities from outside the European Union that were not previously subject to inspection have not complied with the provisions of EU regulations. The organization's experts point to Asian e-commerce giants, which, according to the organization, are guilty of irregularities and unacceptable practices. Apart from the lack of an omnibus price for most products, it also concerns unfair methods of exerting purchasing pressure, such as deliberately non-intuitive promotions or a countdown on the website, suggesting the need to hurry when deciding to purchase a 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.
It is intriguing that all available products are presented as covered by some kind of promotion, discount, "hot" opportunity, limited offer or as part of an almost sold out assortment. Such a model of operation is prohibited – describe experts from the Federation of Consumers.
Therefore, the organization submits a notification to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection requesting that it look into these practices.
– We have analyzed almost 1,600 offers on these platforms. Our experts have found situations in which good sales practices could have been violated and EU regulations guidelines were not followed. On this basis, we have asked the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection to analyze this issue – emphasizes Michał Herde, a member of the board of the Federation of Consumers.
