Information on price reductions in the light of the Omnibus Directive – decisions of the Polish President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) regarding Zalando and Temu

The obligation to disclose the lowest price 30 days prior to announcing a discount, resulting from the provisions implementing the Omnibus Directive, is an important regulatory element concerning the communication of price promotions to consumers.

The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has published decisions concerning two sales platforms – Zalando and Temu. The total amount of administrative penalties imposed is nearly PLN 37 million. These decisions are not final.

According to the UOKiK announcement, customers of the Polish version of Zalando were not informed about the lowest price from 30 days prior to the reduction even several months after the introduction of the Omnibus Directive. UOKiK points out that the information was missing both on the platform itself and in Zalando’s advertisements on other websites. Zalando began to inform customers about the lowest price from 30 days ago, but, according to UOKiK, it did so unreliably. UOKiK also claims that the company presented the value of the reduction in relation to the “initial” or “regular” price, which made the discount seem larger than it actually was. It also has reservations about the use of the “bargain” filter.

In the case of Temu, UOKiK pointed out that an analysis of the website and mobile application showed that Temu did not always provide the lowest price from the last 30 days when informing about price reductions on the Polish version of the website.

UOKiK pointed to three types of irregularities:

• the sale price of the product changed, but the lowest price from 30 days before the reduction was incorrectly stated,
• both the sale price and the lowest price from the previous 30 days changed, but the lowest price was still displayed incorrectly,
• the sale price did not change, but the lowest price from 30 days before the reduction changed day by day during the same reduction.

(details on the UOKIK website: https://uokik.gov.pl/obnizka-jaka-jest-kazdy-widzi-niekoniecznie-najnizsza-cena-z-30-dni-przed-obnizka-kary-dla-zalando-i-temu)

ZALANDO’S POSITION

According to Zalando’s public position, the company:

• implemented the requirements of the Omnibus Directive at EU level in a uniform manner,
• points to the differences between EU regulations and national regulations adopted in Poland at a later date,
• remained in dialogue with the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) and implemented the requirements indicated by the authority,
• is analysing the decision and announces that it will appeal to the court.

TEMU’S POSITION

Temu has publicly stated that:

• it cooperated fully with the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK),
• it has taken the comments into account and made the necessary changes,
• it declares further constructive cooperation with the authority in order to ensure the quality of services for users in Poland.

REGULATORY CONTEXT

The decisions regarding Zalando and Temu are part of a broader practice of enforcing regulations on informing about price reductions following the implementation of the Omnibus Directive. From the point of view of entrepreneurs engaged in retail sales, particularly in the digital environment, these cases may serve as an important reference point when designing promotional communications and assessing regulatory risks.