The peak season for e-commerce has begun, and this is a golden opportunity for marketplaces sellers.
Indeed, participating in the peak season means you benefit from the traffic increases on the marketplaces, but beware: the rules of the game have changed!
SUMMARY
1. What is the Omnibus Directive?
Adopted in 2019, this European directive aims to improve the protection of European consumers on the Internet and to fight against unfair and misleading commercial practices.
On 28 May 2022, it was transposed into French law by Ordinance 2021-1734, and applies without distinction to all businesses: physical stores, on-line shops and marketplaces! 😵
What are the main changes made by the Omnibus Directive?
- Display of the reference price when price reductions are applied
In addition to posting the reduced price, the lowest price of the good during the last 30 days before the reduction must be mentioned next to the reductions. - New pre-contractual information obligations of the trader towards the consumer
- In the event of any use of tracking tools and automated price adjustments based on a particular person or group of persons, the seller must inform the consumer.
- For any sale of digital products, the seller must inform consumers of their functionality, compatibility, and interoperability.
- The seller is required to provide a telephone number and an e-mail address so that the consumer can contact the seller quickly.
- No more false customer reviews
- The e-merchant must inform the consumer of the authenticity of the customer reviews obtained
- Posting false reviews is now prohibited by European legislation, as is submitting modified or deleted reviews or hiding negative reviews and discouraging customers from posting negative reviews.
2. In which cases does the regulation on price reductions on Cdiscount apply?
In accordance with article L.121-1-1 of the consumer code, when you advertise a price reduction on a product, you must indicate a ‘previous price’ on which the reduction will be calculated. This ‘previous price’ is the lowest price you have charged in the last 30 days before the price reduction is applied.
You must indicate the previous price when you announce a price reduction (e.g. when you set up Flash Sales), including during major promotional peak periods (Black Friday, French Days) or Sales.
The regulations do not apply if:
- You decide to lower the selling price of your products without announcing a price reduction.
- You apply comparison prices, which may correspond to the prices recommended by the brand or supplier, and which will be displayed next to the selling price, but without mentioning the savings made.
How is the ‘Previous Price’ implemented by the Marketplace?
As a seller on the marketplace you don’t have to enter the“previous price”.
On Cdiscount, the “previous price” is displayed automatically. To this end, the marketplace records all the prices applied and displays the lowest price of the last thirty days on your ad, as well as the savings calculated from this.
How do successive price reductions work?
If your selling price is not raised between two reduction mechanisms, the “previous price” remains the one that was calculated at the start of your commercial operation.
If, on the other hand, you raised the sale price before posting a new price reduction ad, Cdiscount will recalculate your “Previous Price”, based on the lower price over the last thirty days preceding your 2nd ad.
Preparing for peak periods on Cdiscount:
There are several types of promotion applicable:
Flash Sales, which last 72 hours and can be renewed after a waiting period that corresponds to three times the duration of the flash sale. These must be set up at least 5 hours in advance.
Sales, which can only be applied during the dates established by the government.
Smart coupons, which allow targeted discounts to be offered to potential customers. *
Cdiscount has its own commercial calendar and makes record sales every year during the peak periods.
The New Year Sales are approaching fast! To make the most of this opportunity, it is strongly recommended to prepare your offers 72 hours in advance.
Please note that this communication does not constitute legal advice. It is up to each Seller to seek its own advice in order to ensure (i) that its business via Cdiscount Marketplace complies with the national, European and international laws applicable to it, (ii) that it does not misuse the Cdiscount Marketplace platform.
The visuals provided are not contractual.
Viola Turati
Partnership Manager at Octopia
Cdiscount is the French leader in e-commerce with over 15,000 sellers and over 23 million unique visitors per month.
Launched in 2011, the marketplace offers an infinite range of products in a wide variety of areas such as high-tech, computers, household appliances, fashion, culture, home, childcare, etc.
Octopia is the company that operates the Cdiscount marketplace and provides merchants with the Seller Space to manage their activity.