The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on 30th November that it will be actively focusing on tackling potentially harmful online selling practices including ‘pressure selling’ tactics such as urgent time-limited claims. All industry sectors will be under the CMA’s new enforcement focus.
What Practices Will the CMA Focus On?
The CMA’s statement signals the start of a new programme of consumer enforcement work aimed at tackling pressure selling tactics including:
- urgency strategies, for instance, countdown clocks, where sellers put pressure on shoppers to buy quickly
- attention-grabbing discount offers, such as ‘50%’ claims, when the actual price reduction may not be as significant as stated.
The CMA’s concern is that if consumers are unfairly pressured into acting quickly, they won’t take the time to compare offerings from different providers. As a result, consumers may arrive at a worse deal. Another consequence is less intense competition between retailers, which would ultimately mean higher prices.
This announcement follows from the Online Rip-Off Tip-Off campaign launched by the CMA earlier this year, which revealed that 71% of people shopping online had encountered misleading selling tactics. As part of this campaign, the CMA offered advice to help shoppers identify and avoid practices that could result in them being ripped off.
Online Mattress Seller Investigated
As part of its review, the CMA will investigate whether Emma Sleep, an online seller of mattresses, deceived consumers by using countdown timers on discounted deals, implying that the deal would end soon when this may not be the case, and other time limits to imply discounted prices would end soon.
Increased Powers for CMA in the Future
It is worth noting that once the government publishes its much-awaited Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill, which is expected shortly, the CMA will have new powers to impose fines on companies of up to 10% of turnover in relation to consumer law breaches. Businesses should, therefore, review their approach to online selling and marketing to avoid increased compliance risks.
For more information or advice, contact the Witans solicitors team or email us.
