In a judgment handed down on Thursday, 26 September, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that an advertised price reduction must be calculated based on the lowest price in the last 30 days (Case C-330/23).
In Germany, a consumer association had challenged how the discounter Aldi Süd advertises in its weekly brochures with price reductions or ‘price highlights’ for fruit. The supermarket claimed it was offering a 23% markdown on the price charged, even though the reduced price was, in fact, equivalent to the lowest price charged during the previous 30-day period.
Having been referred a question for a preliminary ruling, the Court of Justice interpreted Directive 98/6/EC on consumer protection in the indication of the prices of products offered. It has ruled that a price reduction that is announced by a trader either in the form of a percentage or in the form of a promotional statement intended to highlight the advantageous nature of the price offer must be determined based on the lowest price applied by the trader during a period of at least 30 days prior to the application of the price reduction.
It added that this prevents traders from misleading consumers by displaying false price reductions—increasing the price charged before announcing a price reduction.
See the judgment of the Court of Justice: https://aeur.eu/f/dl8 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)