The President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection found that the advertising campaign at issue constituted a misleading market practice, as it contained false information regarding the manner in which the discounted price had been calculated. The posters were presented in such a way that consumers could have got an impression that when purchasing more than one Nine West product, they would get a 60% discount on the already discounted price, and not on the original price of the product prior to the promotion, which was actually the case.
The President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection considered the definition of "retail price" crucial to determining whether the campaign constituted an unfair commercial practice. An average consumer has a simple understanding of a "retail price" as differentiated from "quantity price". Since the products had already been discounted, they displayed the lower price after the discount as well as the crossed off original price, to indicate the advantage the consumer was getting. In connection with the promotion being the matter of the proceedings, consumers could have got an impression that if they purchase two products, they would get a further 60% discount in addition to the discount on individual products.
Although consumers could get accurate information on how the discounted price was calculated, this would require them to visit the Facebook page of the company or enquire with the shops' employees. This meant that they did not possess the material information at the time they saw the advertisement. The advertisement could have induced them to enter the shops and familiarise themselves with the offered products. Hence, the practice was found to have a misleading character as it could have influenced customers' behaviour.
URL: http://decyzje.uokik.gov.pl/dec_prez.nsf/0/10598AB88D702E59C1257C32004CFE2C?OpenDocument
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