Webshops that have offers with a misleading timer have been reprimanded by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). They should stop doing that if the offers aren’t temporary. If they fail to do so, the regulator can impose fines.
The regulator performed automated checks on web shops and found hundreds of so-called countdown clocks. That is a clock that expires and stands with an offer. Such as, “You have 3 hours left to take advantage of this offer.”
The use of a timer is not prohibited, but it must be correct. That is, the offer is limited and disappears when the timer expires. In 41 cases, ACM saw that the offer was still available for the same price after the timer expired or that a new timer started with the same offer or even better. That’s not allowed.
The consumer is then misled because he then thinks that there is less time to decide on an offer. “Online consumers are stimulated in all kinds of ways to make purchases,” said consumer director of ACM, Edwin van Houten. “We think it is important that consumers can make online purchases with confidence. Webshops may seduce consumers, but not mislead them.”
The digital economy is one of the points of attention for ACM. With websites, for example, the company pays attention to ‘dark patterns’. Those are ways that sites push visitors and customers in a certain direction, such as the countdown timers. This also includes checking certain options in advance, for example, because this is by no means always in the interest of consumers.
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