The Belgian Ministry of Economy and the consumer protection group, Test Achats, have issued a warning about potentially misleading promotional offers ahead of 'Black Friday' on 29 November.
In 2023, over half of Belgians (52%) took advantage of a Black Friday offer, and in 2024, 63% plan to do so, according to survey data from Test Achats.
However, nearly two-thirds (63%) believe some retailers raise their prices before Black Friday to offer seemingly larger discounts. Additionally, 41% think prices end up being the same or higher compared to other times of the year. "This often proves to be true," warns Test Achats.
Since May 2022, stricter rules have been in place. Discounts must be calculated based on a reference price, which is the lowest price in the last 30 days. The reference price should always be clearly indicated. Striking out a recommended price or using a percentage can be misleading.
Credit: Belga/Thierry Roge.
Nonetheless, there are still a significant number of misleading deals. "We detected nearly 20,000 [promotions] on Friday alone. However, only 5,500 of those, or 27%, are genuinely worthwhile," explained Testachats.
Consumers should be particularly cautious of inflated prices, ambiguous conditions like "up to 50% off," products always on promotion, and pressure tactics such as "sold out = sold out," "limited stock," or "last chance."
“If an offer seems too good to be true, it often is,” stressed the Ministry of Economy.
Since 2022, 1,360 misleading promotions have been reported. Investigations have identified 811 infractions, resulting in 398 warnings and 346 formal reports by the Economic Inspection.
Consumers can check if a Black Friday deal is worthwhile using Test Achat's online tool. Suspicious deals can be reported online at consumerconnect.be.
