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UFC-Que Choisir denounces the false good plans of 8 big names in e-commerce

UFC-Que Choisir conducted a large-scale survey of the practices of major web brands in terms of promotions.

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Update of May 31, 2023:

An Amazon spokesperson contacted Phonandroid to oppose a right of reply to the remarks relayed in this article. Here is his statement:

“Our customers’ trust and transparency are among our priorities and Amazon is committed to providing customers with the best possible experience, which includes a shopping experience that complies with applicable regulations. From day one, Amazon has been committed to providing customers with low prices, a wide selection, and reliable delivery. The French are not mistaken and consider Amazon as one of the first shields against inflation”.

The company also states that it fully supports the objectives of consumer associations aimed at ensuring that consumers are well protected. She also recalls that a study conducted by Opinion Way places it among the “first non-food brands able to preserve their purchasing power”.

Original post:

UFC-Que Choisir analyzed the prices offered by online merchants, but also their display and marketing practices in the event of promotions. To do this, the organization studied no less than 6,586 ads with a crossed out price, published on the main e-commerce sites. His conclusions are not at all flattering for the stalwarts of e-commerce.

Of all the promotional offers studied, just over 220 only corresponded to a real discount. When 3.4% of them actually give a discount, 96.6% are in violation of the “Omnibus” directive. The UFC denounces the use of these “unfair strategies” and points the finger at eight big names in e-commerce. The list includes Amazon, which is seeking to restore its image in France, but also ASOS, CDiscount, E.Leclerc, La Redoute, Rue du Commerce, Veepee and Zalando.

96% of online promotions are fake bargains, according to L’UFC-Que Choisir

consumer protection association seizes the public prosecutor of Paris and the European Commission to alert them to the excesses of professionals, and ask them to act in order to strictly prohibit any reference price system other than that provided for by the Omnibus Directive. The latter, which entered into force on May 28, 2022, aims to better apply and modernizing EU consumer protection rules “. Its ambition is noble, but its application is more difficult, as online sellers are doubling their inventiveness to lure the customer. It is always more difficult to differentiate the real ones from the fake promotions.

The display of prices, for example, can be confusing. Online stores do not hesitate to use the launch price of a product that has been listed for a long time as a point of comparison with its current price. This is not prohibited, and above all allowsartificially increase the percentage of the discount granted. And if you look closely, today, good deals and other exceptional discounts are everywhere. They will be much less numerous if the European Commission considers that the complaint lodged by UFC-Que Choisir is well-founded and operates a major cleaning in the dubious practices of certain e-commerce sites.

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