Price discounts in ads: lowest price in last 30 days
Stores must calculate discounts in advertisements based on the lowest price in the last 30 days. This was confirmed by the Court of Justice in its ruling on the case against Aldi. The supermarket based price discounts on a higher amount than the lowest price charged for the product in the recent period.
Fake offers in advertising brochure
Under EU law, an offer must be shown based on the lowest price charged in the last 30 days. A German consumer organisation, therefore, disagreed with how the discount retailer Aldi Süd advertised price reductions or “price offers” in its weekly advertising brochure. The consumer organisation took action against this and went to the German courts.
Incorrect price comparison
According to the consumer organisation, Aldi may not calculate the price reduction in an advertisement based on the price immediately before the offer. Suppose the offer is €1.29 for a kilo of bananas. Aldi compares the offer price of €1.29 with the crossed-out, 'normal' price of €1.69. In addition, Aldi also mentions that the lowest price in the past 30 days was €1.29. The consumer organisation finds this misleading.
Lowest price is the key
According to the consumer organisation, simply stating the lowest price of the past 30 days in the ad is not enough. If Aldi compares prices, the supermarket must compare the new price with the lowest price of the 30-day period. In the example, both the offer and the lowest price are €1.29. Those prices must be compared to show a correct offer. The “normal” price of €1.69 is not a reliable indication of the deal, but the lowest price of the past 30 days is.
The German court asked the Court of Justice (CJEU) for more explanation on how sellers should apply the rules to deals.
Court of Justice clarifies rules
The Court of Justice (CJEU) has ruled that stores must base price reductions, such as percentage discounts or offers, on the lowest price they have charged in the past 30 days. That means the new selling price of an item on sale cannot be equal to or higher than that previous price.
That way, stores can't mislead consumers by first raising the price and then offering a fake discount. Or by always discounting a price that was not actually charged in the 30 days before the offer. This prevents sellers from applying discounts that make products appear more advantageous than they really are, and it ensures that consumers get a fairer picture of the actual discount.
Want to know more?
The full judgment C 330/23 Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg eV v. Aldi, can be found on the InfoCuria website (case law of the Court of Justice) CURIA - Documents (europa.eu).