Black Friday, known in Poland as Czarny Piątek, is undoubtedly one of the most important days in the shopping calendar, eagerly awaited by both consumers and businesses. Due to the implementation of the Omnibus Directive, this year's Black Friday will look different than last year.

Omnibus Directive – what is it about?

At the beginning of 2023, new regulations under the Omnibus Directive came into force, significantly impacting the Polish e-commerce market. The implementation of the Omnibus Directive introduced regulations whose primary goal is to protect consumers and curb unfair practices, particularly in online stores.

The directive itself is a set of rules and regulations regarding online commerce and consumer protection. Its purpose is to adapt regulations to the constantly evolving e-commerce industry, aiming to protect consumers and ensure fair and transparent trading practices.

Black Friday 2023

Black Friday falls on the last Friday of November, so this year it will take place on November 24th. Due to the growing trend of extending promotion durations in recent years, you can expect not only Black Weekend but even Black Week, meaning promotions lasting an entire week.

The idea behind Black Friday is to offer consumers significant price reductions on goods, attracting crowds of customers looking for attractive deals. Black Friday is considered the beginning of the holiday shopping season and is one of the busiest days of the year for businesses.

What are the benefits of Black Friday for online retailers?

Above all, businesses can expect increased sales. On such a day, consumers are more likely to purchase larger quantities of goods, allowing them to obtain products that were previously beyond their budget. Shoppers are more likely to use additional services, such as express delivery, which generate additional profits for retailers.

The ability to sell a larger quantity of goods is facilitated by so-called warehouse clearance, which frees up space in warehouses or storage areas and, above all, reduces the costs generated by backlogged goods. Lower prices motivate customers to purchase products that would otherwise take a long time to sell at regular prices.

Black Friday is an ideal time to build relationships with loyal customers, for example, through exclusive offers or access to promotions before other consumers. It also attracts new customers who may be unfamiliar with a given business and may be persuaded to make repeat purchases. Expanding an online store's customer database can result from registering or providing contact information in exchange for access to exclusive offers.

How to introduce promotions to your online store without violating applicable laws?

The Impact of the Omnibus Directive on Black Friday 2023 Promotions

When planning to introduce a promotion in an online store, it is necessary to consider several key issues that will not only help entrepreneurs avoid high fines imposed by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, but may also facilitate building long-term relationships with potential customers.

The Omnibus Directive requires businesses to be more transparent than before. Not only can retailers not artificially inflate prices in the run-up to upcoming promotions, but they must also clearly and conspicuously inform customers about, among other things, product prices before and after discounts are applied, as well as the lowest price of the product that was available in the last 30 days before the discount was introduced.

Prohibition of artificially raising prices

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) strictly monitors all promotional campaigns introduced in online stores. Businesses who artificially raise prices before introducing a discount, only to later lower them and create the impression of a more attractive price change, may be fined by the UOKiK. The implementation of the Omnibus Directive, which has received widespread online attention, and the growing trend in so-called smartshopping—a phenomenon involving the careful analysis and comparison of prices, available options and delivery costs, as well as customer return and complaint policies—as well as the increasing availability of online price comparison tools have led to such practices being quickly detected and reported to the UOKiK.

So what should an online store owner do to get the most benefits and avoid losses during Black Friday?

Promotions – how to inform about them?

It's important to note that if a seller reduces the price and doesn't want to draw consumers' attention to it, and therefore displays only one price, they are not subject to any additional disclosure obligations. According to the Act, the obligation to inform consumers of the lowest price from the 30 days prior to the reduction arises only when the reduction is announced. This means that normal changes in product prices, resulting from factors such as inflation, do not require the display of the lowest price from the last 30 days – the obligation applies to products for which the seller wishes to apply a promotion.

How do I present a percentage reduction in an Omnibus-compliant manner?

In a situation where the seller wants to use the percentage discount indication, he must remember that the discount is calculated by taking into account the lowest price from 30 days before the discount as the initial price.

Example:

The seller is currently offering the product for PLN 1,400. The product's price over the past 30 days has been PLN 1,000. The seller wants to offer an attractive 50% discount. The price after the 50% discount, which will be listed on the website, will be PLN 500, even though the current price is PLN 1,400.

How to communicate this correctly in listings and product cards?

Promotion: -50%

Promotional price: PLN 500

Lowest price in the last 30 days: PLN 1,000 (-50%)

Regular price: PLN 1,400

This form of informing consumers about promotions is intended to prevent the price of goods from being increased before a sale, which is intended to create the impression that the discount is more attractive than it actually is.

Is the obligation to provide the lowest price from 30 days before the discount applicable to every promotion?

NO.

Below is a list of sample promotions that can be introduced on an online store's website, which generally do not require the lowest price from 30 days before the discount to be displayed.

• The second thing is cheaper - a promotion calculated based on a discount code or automatically in the basket, covering all products, thanks to which the consumer decides which goods are eligible for the discount;
• The more items in the cart, the greater the discount - a promotion calculated based on a discount code or automatically in the cart, covering all goods offered by the store;
• The higher the basket value, the greater the discount - a cascading promotion depending on the basket value, calculated based on a discount code or automatically in the basket, covering all goods offered by the store;
• Spend at least PLN 399 on the entire assortment and receive a 30% discount on the entire basket - the promotion is calculated based on a discount code or automatically in the basket, covering all goods offered by the store;
• Buy 3 products from a given category, pay for 2;
• Buy 5 products and get 20% off your entire order.

Below we have prepared explanations on how to introduce specific types of promotions.

Basket promotions

Product promotions, product bundles, and basket promotions are excellent alternatives that businesses can tailor to their products. It's worth taking the time to analyze the available promotional options and their associated benefits and responsibilities.

Due to the relatively short period of time in which the provisions of the Omnibus Directive on promotions, the method of introducing and labelling them have been in force, as well as the sheer volume of information available on news portals, it may be difficult to find an understanding of promotions, especially in the area of ​​basket promotions.

In this respect, it is necessary to distinguish between "for everything" codes, which should be understood as the possibility of obtaining a discount on all products offered to all customers of a given online store, and basket codes, which allow customers to make purchases on any selected products with a discount, which is conditioned by providing a discount code entered in the basket when placing an order.

If an online store allows purchases with a "for everything" discount code, it's necessary to provide the lowest price from the 30 days prior to the discount. This is because it's necessary to communicate product group discounts – in this case, a group is defined as all products available in a given online store.

Shopping cart codes, valid for example, when placing a subsequent order or for any product, do not require the lowest price from the 30 days prior to the discount. This is because the discount is actually specified by the consumer, meaning they decide which product they will receive the discount on. However, excessive use of this form of promotion is risky – if shopping cart codes are shared too frequently, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) may consider it an unfair market practice intended to circumvent applicable regulations.

Cascading promotions

Cascading promotions involve offering customers varying levels of discounts based on the number of products purchased or the order value. Offering greater savings encourages customers to purchase larger quantities.

In cascading promotions, there is no reference to the previous promotional price, provided that the discounts occur in one action or campaign.

Conditional or tie-in sales

In the case of conditional or bundled offers in which the seller does not provide information about a price reduction for a specific product, there is no obligation to inform about the lowest price from 30 days before the reduction, e.g. as part of the "3 for the price of 2" promotion.

In the case of offers in which the seller provides information about a price reduction for a specific product, such as in the case of the promotion "buy 2 products and pay 50% for the third of the same product", it is necessary to indicate the lowest price from 30 days before the reduction.

What else should entrepreneurs remember before the upcoming Black Friday?

The obligations do not only include the proper labeling of promotions and discounts.

Sellers should also be mindful of personal data protection regulations. This requires exercising caution in obtaining, collecting, and processing customer data. You can read more about our personal data privacy policy here .

If a business hasn't implemented a system to verify ratings posted on its online store, it should immediately ensure the authenticity of reviews of its products . Importantly, simply reporting the lack of verification constitutes compliance with the information obligation. Implementation of the Omnibus Directive introduced the obligation to inform consumers about rating verification to prevent the falsification of reviews and opinions.

Summary

Properly preparing your online store for the upcoming Black Friday can improve your sellers' credibility and attract new customers. Regardless of the marketing strategy you choose, it's essential to comply with applicable regulations and comply with the resulting disclosure requirements.

If you'd like to prepare your store for the upcoming holiday shopping season, as well as for the increased inspections by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), please contact us. You can find all the necessary information here .