You can visit our Business Center to download Discount Validator
price data for your shop, you will find it under Downloads.
The Discount Validator will help you to find products for which you should double-check that you’re communicating correctly about pricing based on the proposed legislation.
In Sweden, proposed legislation on how shops are permitted to
communicate sales and prices could enter into force on 1 July:
Article 7 a. If a product is offered with the claim of a reduced price, the previous
price shall also be stated. The previous price to be stated shall be the lowest
price that the trader has applied to the product during the 30 days prior to the
price reduction. If the price has been reduced gradually during this period, the
price that applied before the first price reduction shall be stated instead. The
previous price need not be stated for goods that can quickly perish or go out of
date.
If a shop states that is has reduced the price of a product, the shop
shall also show the price that applied before. Such as by presenting the
new price together with a crossed-out previous price or specifying the
discount as a percentage and/or amount in SEK.
Under the proposed legislation, previous price means the lowest price
that the shop has had for the product during the 30 days before the
price reduction. If the price of a product has been increased for a few
days during that 30-day period and then subsequently reduced, the
shop may not present that higher price. This is only permitted if the
higher price applied for at least 30 days before the price reduction. The
shop is not, however, obligated to state how long the previous price
applied.
If a product has been on sale for less than 30 days, the shop shall state
the lowest price the product has had.
If the shop reduced the price gradually over the 30 days before the
price reduction, there is a special definition of the term previous price.
Say, for example, that the shop first reduces the price of a product by
20 percent, then by 50 percent and finally by 70 percent, the previous
price before the first price reduction can be stated in connection with
all subsequent price reductions.
The graphs below represent possible scenarios and how PriceSpy
assesses the risk of marketing the price incorrectly in a promotion -
High, Moderate or Low.
Risk level: High
Example 1: The price has gone from the lowest price during the past 30 days to a
higher price and then been reduced again to a price that is higher than the
previous lowest price.
Example 2: The initial price is reduced to a new lowest price, then it is increased
again but still remains lower than the initial price. Here, the shop risks setting a
discount rate based on the price on day one but, according to the proposed
legislation, must present the lowest price and not highlight the higher price.
Accordingly, the discount cannot be calculated on the basis of the initial price.
Example 3: The price jumps between two price points. Here, the shop shall state
the lowest price during the 30-day period and not calculate the discount on the
basis of the higher price. The result is that under the proposed legislation there
is no discount.
Risk level: Moderate
Example: The shop increases the price from the initial price on day one and then
reduces the price to a lower price than the initial price. The shop should not then
calculate the discount on the basis of the latest higher price but on the basis of
the previous lowest price.
Risk level: Low
Example: The shop reduces the price gradually from the initial price on day one.
This is a classic approach to a sale with, say, first a 25%, then a 50% and finally
a 70% discount. Such a scenario is still permitted under the proposed legislation
provided that the shop presents the initial price.
No discount
Example 1: The price is increased gradually. Since no price reduction has been
made, we assess the risk level as low that the shop will market the product as a
sale item.
Example 2: The graph shows a typical setup for a sale. The shop reduces the
price for a period of time and then increases the price back to the initial price.
We assess the risk of the shop continuing to market the product as a sale item as
low.
Example 3: The shop has reduced the price for a period of time and then, at the
end of the promotion, has increased the price to a higher price than the initial
price. We assess the risk level that the shop is marketing the product incorrectly
as low as customers are probably aware that the promotion has ended.
If one of your products that is marketed as having a reduced price or a discount
is listed under no discount, there is a high risk that you are communicating the
price incorrectly.