I have spent much of this season watching how companies use Black Friday and holiday discounts. One example stood out.
More than one offer declared the sale “sold”, “going once”, “going twice”, or in its “final hours”, only for a new and even larger discount to appear the next day.
In the UK, we now have very clear expectations set by both the ASA rules and the new DMCCA legislation. Time-limited offers have to be genuine. Scarcity claims have to be real. Savings must reflect true reference prices. Urgency cannot be manufactured to push people into a purchase. These are not technicalities.
They are the foundation of honest digital commerce.
Looking at this long list of breathless offers, it is obvious how easily a company can fall foul of the rules. But the bigger lesson here is not the regulatory risk. It is the effect on trust. I found myself disengaging. Rather than feeling valued or tempted, I felt treated as if I would believe anything. I closed the emails. I did not buy.
Several brands have taken this approach with me over the holiday period. A regulatory slap is the best they can hope for. The real consequence is losing customers who no longer feel respected.
In a crowded market, trust is still the most powerful differentiator. And once you have lost it, no level of discount will buy it back.