Asian sales platforms have not complied with the obligations imposed by the EU Omnibus Directive, thus misleading customers, claims the Polish Consumer Federation. The regulations require disclosing the lowest product price from the last 30 days. According to the organization, the most discrepancies with EU law and manipulative techniques appear among Chinese e-commerce giants: Shein and Temu. The Polish Consumer Federation wants UOKiK to investigate the activities of third-country platforms in this regard.
The Omnibus Directive, whose provisions came into effect on January 1, 2023, aimed to increase price and promotion transparency. Previously, consumers had to carefully track prices to verify the actual value of a store’s discount. Today, sellers offering products both in-store and online must provide the lowest price of the product from the last 30 days for each promotion and discount.
“The legislator’s intention is clear: to reduce the number of unfair manipulative techniques,” comments Monika Kosińska-Pyter, President of the Polish Consumer Federation. “From daily practice, we see that many sellers attract customers with non-existent promotions. By introducing the so-called omnibus price, indicating the lowest price from the last 30 days, customers clearly see the actual discount amount. Unfortunately, absurd cases still occur where a store offers a promotion, and the omnibus price clearly indicates that the product has actually become more expensive,” adds Monika Kosińska-Pyter.
Poles Support New Regulations
The Polish Consumer Federation analyzed offers on online sales platforms concerning the implementation of the Omnibus Directive provisions in Poland. The final report states that although not all companies immediately complied with the new guidelines, most have already changed practices questioned by UOKiK in initiated proceedings and adjusted their way of informing about price promotions to the provisions of the Omnibus Directive.
The Polish Consumer Federation explains in its report that sales platforms operating in Poland had little time to adapt to the new regulations—just two weeks from the entry of the regulations into force. Additionally, they could not prepare well in advance because Polish regulations introduced as a result of the Omnibus Directive implementation differ from those found in the law adopted in Brussels. Entities implementing changes had to rely on explanations from the UOKiK President issued after the regulations came into force, not on the European Commission’s guidelines as in other EU countries.
“Online sellers today have many methods to effectively attract buyers. We have various discount tools such as coupons, clubs, other loyalty programs, or bundled sales. Using manipulative techniques or creating artificial promotions is therefore not only reprehensible but completely out of line with current market realities and customer needs,” notes Monika Kosińska-Pyter.
Chinese Giants Under Scrutiny
However, the Polish Consumer Federation’s report shows that despite corrective actions, non-EU entities that were not previously controlled have not complied with EU regulations. Organization experts point to Asian e-commerce giants, where violations and unacceptable practices occur. Besides the lack of the omnibus price under most products, there are also unfair ways of exerting purchase pressure, such as deliberately non-intuitive promotions or countdowns on the site, suggesting the need to hurry when deciding to buy a product.
Such irregularities were detected in the analysis of the Shein and Temu platforms. “It is puzzling that all available products are presented as part of some promotion, discount, ‘hot’ deal, limited offer, or nearly sold-out stock. Such a model is prohibited,” describe the experts of the Polish Consumer Federation. Therefore, the organization submits a notification to UOKiK requesting an examination of these practices.
“We analyzed nearly 1,600 offers on these platforms. Our experts found situations where there could be violations of good sales practices and non-compliance with EU regulation guidelines. On this basis, we asked UOKiK to examine this issue,” emphasizes Michał Herde, a member of the Board of the Polish Consumer Federation.
