Black Friday sales are set to be put under the microscope to ensure consumers are not being duped.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will conduct a sweep of all sales activity to identify misleading or deceptive advertising used by retailers.
ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said the sweep would focus on a range of sales advertising tactics.
Ms Lowe said this included misleading limited time representations that created a false sense of urgency for consumers, misleading “site-wide” or “store-wide” claims about sales and claims of “up to X percent off”, where few products were on sale at X percent off.
“We are putting retailers on notice to review their sales advertising practices to ensure that any sales or discount claims they make are accurate, clear, and not likely to mislead or deceive consumers,” she said.
“Misleading advertising may influence a consumer’s behaviour and impact their ability to make an informed purchasing decision during the sales.
“We will pay special attention to retailers who were identified as having problematic sales practices in the sweep we conducted during last year’s Black Friday and Boxing Day sales and expect to see improved compliance across the retail sector.”
Ms Lowe said retailers that used misleading or deceptive tactics during the Black Friday sales period may face enforcement action by the ACCC.
“If consumers are waiting for the Black Friday sales to make a big purchase, we encourage them to consider checking the prices now before sales start, so they can compare the price and determine if they are making a legitimate saving,” Ms Lowe said.
