Are you waiting for Black Friday? Better give it up. Shopping Day has been a scam holiday for years

Black Friday is a tradition that came to Poland from the United States. In this country, since the 1950s, the Friday following Thanksgiving has been considered a “shopping day”. Many Americans take the day off from work on this day, and stores organize great promotions.

In recent years, Polish stores have also come to love Black Friday and since the beginning of November they have been bombarding us with advertisements and banners announcing the arrival of the shopping holiday. Some retail chains even turned Black Friday into Black Week to tempt their customers throughout the week.

The problem is that while in the USA we actually have real promotions and price reductions, which sometimes reach up to 70-80%. in Poland, they often have – to put it mildly – symbolic nature. Black Friday in our country is often still a “hoax day”, not a “promotion day”.

Black Friday in Polish, i.e. virtual promotions

which exposes the marketing tricks of Polish stores.

Thus, in 2021, price reductions in 800 online stores analyzed by Deloitte reached an average of only 3.6 percent, and as many as 57 percent of stores did not prepare any offers for customers.

In very few cases the reductions were greater than 5 percent

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At the same time, the average price increase was 3.1%, so we can say that on Black Friday, the value of the tested basket of products did not change (!).

It was similar in previous years. In 2020, the scale of reductions was on average 3.35 percent, in 2019 – 4 percent, and in 2018 – 3.5 percent. Data for last year have not been published yet, but it is difficult to expect them to stand out in any particular way compared to previous “editions” of Black Friday. In fact, considering that y, the result may be even worse.

The omnibus is already operational, but…

Therefore, Black Friday promotions should be approached with caution and a dose of distrust. Especially since stores often use various tricks to convince us that something is a promotion when it is not. In recent years, it has been a common practice to increase the prices of products just before Black Friday and then purport to have a “promotion”. For example, on Tuesday the price of the iPhone was raised from PLN 3,499 to PLN 4,499, and then on Friday it was lowered to PLN 3,999 and a large red banner was placed on the product with the inscription: PROMOTION – PLN 500.

Raising prices a few days before the planned sale creates an appropriate background for simulating tempting discounts. This is an unfair marketing trick that is intended to convince the consumer that the promotion is more attractive than it actually is

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, which is intended to help customers distinguish real promotions from those that are far-fetched or simply fake. Pursuant to applicable regulations, each store organizing a discount must display in a visible place, among others:

• the lowest price of a given product in the last 30 days;
• price immediately before the discount

Online stores must now also inform customers whether and how they verify product reviews, and trading platforms must clearly indicate whether the offer comes from a private person or an entrepreneur. This information is extremely important because it defines the rights that the consumer is entitled to or determines how he should submit a complaint.

The entry into force of Omnibus put an end to – let’s not be afraid to use such a word – fraudulent practices, and most stores today honestly inform customers about discounts and promotions. Besides, they have no other choice. If violations in this respect are found, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection may impose a fine on the entity of up to 10 percent of annual turnover. So there is a lot of risk.

However, there are many people who try to bend the rules. In mid-January, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection examined the largest online stores and trading platforms. Then, the following practices of some companies raised the following practices of some companies:

• Providing the current selling price and the strike-through price without providing information on what the strike-through price is,
• Providing the current sales price and the strike-through price, with the message explaining that the strike-through price is the lowest price of the product that was valid in the 30 days before the discount was introduced is available only after expanding,
• Using other reference values ​​when presenting discounts (crossed out prices), excluding the lowest price from 30 days before the discount,
• Calculating the amount of discount (e.g. 20%, PLN 150) in relation to the last or standard price of the goods, not the lowest price from the last 30 days,
• Using phrases other than “the lowest price of the goods in the 30 days before the introduction of the discount”, e.g. “reference price”, “previous/last lowest price”, “price from 30 days before the promotion”,
• Presenting information about the lowest price valid in the period of 30 days before the introduction of the discount in an illegible way: font, colors, contrast.

Black Friday in Polish, or how not to fall into the trap of sellers

The greatest ally in the fight against unfair promotions is common sense and a bit of cunning. During Black Friday, you should avoid impulse purchases. If you have been looking for a smartphone for a long time and have chosen several models, it is definitely worth waiting until Black Friday to buy one. It may turn out that there will actually be an interesting promotion. However, buying something we don’t need just because it is (supposedly) a little cheaper is pointless.

Before purchasing, it is worth checking whether the selected product is actually on sale. This is where price comparison websites come in handy (ceneo.pl, skapiec.pl, nokaut.pl), which provide insight into the price of a given product over the course of several months. In recent years, the FakeFriday website has also become very popular, the main goal of which is to catch price manipulations in stores.

It is also worth remembering that shopping on Black Friday or Black Week does not mean that as customers we lose any consumer rights related to complaints or returns of goods. If the seller claims otherwise, he is simply cheating us.

Regardless of whether you buy goods at a promotional or regular price, from a Polish seller or abroad, uniform consumer regulations apply throughout the European Union.

– reminds the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

If you buy in an online store, it is worth remembering that:

• you have the right to make a complaint on the same terms as for stationary purchases;
• You can return goods purchased online without giving a reason within 14 days of receipt. You just need to complete and return the declaration of withdrawal from the contract;
• the returned goods should not show any signs of use – you can check them in the same way as in a stationary store;
• checking the parcel in front of the courier is not obligatory;
• not all goods are returnable. The restrictions apply to products such as tickets, music and film CDs, games and goods with a short shelf life;
• the costs of returning the goods are borne by the consumer, unless the entrepreneur did not inform him about it or agreed to bear them himself.

Beware of scammers and scammers

There is another group that is especially excited for the arrival of BlackFriday. Shopping madness is a perfect opportunity for fraudsters and scammers to get rich at our expense. Data from PayPal show that at the turn of November and December there is an increase of up to 18%. more fraud attempts than at other times of the year.

In recent years, experts have noted a proliferation of fake online stores, whose creators offer goods at great prices, but do not ship them to customers after receiving payment. Before pressing the “Buy” button, it is worth carefully verifying the seller.

And it’s not just about checking the opinions about a given store on the Internet, because they can be bought. If we buy from a store we have not heard of before, it is worth verifying its NIP and REGON. It wouldn’t hurt to call the given telephone number and check on Google Maps whether such a store actually operates at a given address.

Experts also warn against cybercriminals who may try to intercept payment card details or impersonate an online payment intermediary during the upcoming shopping holiday. When making payment, it is worth checking the e-mail address of the sender from whom we received confirmation of purchase. If it does not contain the official domain of a given brand, it is probably a scam.