Irish consumers do not trust Black Friday sale offers

Some 61% of shoppers do not believe the discounts advertised by retailers during the sale represent real savings

New rules will require retailers to provide 'clear and transparent pricing history to consumers'. Stock picture

Consumers in Ireland have very low levels of trust that sale prices displayed by retailers are accurate, a new survey has found.

Ahead of Black Friday next week when retailers aim to lure customers by heavily discounting and promoting products, the survey found that almost two thirds of Irish buyers do not believe that the pre-sale prices or discounts displayed are accurate.

The survey from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) found almost 40% of people were likely to make a purchase during the Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales with more than 80% of likely buyers to carry out research before they buy.

However, the survey also found that 61% of the people in Ireland do not trust retailers on whether the discounts displayed in stores and on websites are real. Among shoppers likely to make a purchase this year, the level of distrust was 49%.

"It’s clear from our research that consumer confidence in the legitimacy of advertised discounts is very low," Gráinne Griffin, CCPC director of communications said. "Only 35% of consumers trust that discounts or pre-sale prices displayed during sales are accurate."

The CCPC survey found that just over one in three consumers are planning to make a purchase in the 2022 Black Friday sales, slightly down on last year. File picture: Brian Lawless

"Misleading advertising is illegal and consumers should be able to trust in advertised discounts. We also encourage businesses to play their part in building consumer confidence by providing clear and transparent pricing history to consumers during sale periods."

The CCPC said it is looking forward to the upcoming enactment of the EU's Price Indication Directive which will tighten up the rules on sales advertising and empower the CCPC to take enforcement action when businesses mislead consumers through discount advertising.

The changes create new statutory obligations for traders when communicating price reductions to prevent misleading consumers when communicating price reductions and ensure that discount claims are transparent and genuine.

Under the Price Indication Directive, any advertised price reduction will have to include the prior price of the product. In addition, the product must have been available at that prior price for 30 days. The new legislation will also make changes to penalties for businesses that do not comply with these laws.

The CCPC survey found that just over one in three consumers are planning to make a purchase in the Black Friday sales this year, slightly down on last year with consumers intending to spend almost €400 on average.

Laptops or tablet devices stand out as the most popular electrical items that consumers intend to buy (37%), followed by mobile phones (26%) and televisions (22%). 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday events have long been popular in the US following the Thanksgiving holiday but have grown more popular worldwide as retailers use the opportunity to lure more customers ahead of Christmas.

"Our advice to consumers who are planning on purchasing is that they have stronger consumer rights when they buy from an EU website and a ‘.ie’ domain is not a guarantee that a company is based in Ireland. Consumers should shop around to compare offers and focus on selling prices rather than advertised discounts," Ms Griffin said.