Australia’s competition regulator has begun a new Black Friday and Cyber Monday surveillance sweep, focusing on promotional practices that may mislead consumers across websites, email and social media.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said on 10 November that it will test “storewide” or “sitewide” claims where substantial exclusions apply, limited-time offers that continue after the stated deadline, inaccurate countdown timers and scarcity messages, and comparisons with reference prices at which goods were not recently sold.
This is the third sweep in the series and the first to examine retailers’ advertising across several channels together. The regulator says fine print will not necessarily cure a misleading headline claim, and businesses must ensure that the stated scale, scope and duration of a promotion are accurate.
The exercise is a compliance and evidence-gathering step, not a finding that any named retailer has broken the Australian Consumer Law. The ACCC says enforcement action may follow where the sweep identifies misleading conduct.
