Write the correct price when you lower the price of your products
When you lower the price of a product, it is not enough to show the regular price as a comparison. You must also tell costumers what the lowest price has been in the last 30 days.
Last year, changes to the Price Information Act came into effect. The aim was to reduce the risk of consumers being exposed to so-called "fake sales" where the price of a product is first raised and then lowered again. In practice, this means that you as an entrepreneur during a sales campaign have an obligation to, in addition to the sale price, also communicate the lowest price the product has had in the last 30 days. The requirement applies to business-to-consumer sales, but not business-to-business sales.
It is important to remember that it is how the consumer perceives your communication about price that determines whether it should be handled as a price reduction or not. For example, if you use words like "Christmas Sale" or "Black Friday", which are clearly associated with price reductions, you have an obligation to communicate the previous lowest price. Similarly, words and prices combined with certain colors can indicate that a price has been reduced, such as red price tags.
If you break the law, you risk having to pay a fine to the state. At minimum, this means a fee of SEK 10,000 and at most 4 percent of the company's annual turnover.
More about the Price Information Act at the Swedish Consumer Agency (in Swedish)
Good to think about when communicating a price reduction
- Previous lowest price must be clear - the consumer should not have to search for it.
- Previous lowest price must be printed in the same way as other price information, for example in brackets next to the promotional price and with a clear connection to the product, for example on the packaging or on a sign in connection with the product.
- If you have both a physical store and an online store, the previous lowest price must be stated in both places, and may therefore be different.
- If you have two campaigns that replace each other on the same product, for example a Christmas campaign and a mid-day sale, then it is the campaign price from the Christmas campaign that you must enter as the previous lowest price during the mid-day sale.
Exemption from the requirement to communicate the previous lowest price
- Gradual price reductions. If you first mark down a product by 30% and then mark it down to 50%, you should still listing the lowest price that was before the first markdown.
- Bulk offers
- Shop for SEK 1,000 and get a 15% discount on your next purchase
- Buy 3 pay for 2
- Buy 3 for SEK 10
- Buy 2 and get an extra with the purchase