The ACCC will conduct a Black Friday sales sweep to identify misleading or deceptive sales advertising used by retailers.

The sweep will focus on a range of sales advertising tactics used by retailers. This includes misleading limited time representations that create a false sense of urgency for consumers, misleading ‘site-wide’ or ‘store-wide’ claims about sales and claims of ‘up to X% off’, where few products are on sale at X% off.

“We are putting retailers on notice to review their sales advertising practices to ensure that any sales or discount claims they make are accurate, clear, and not likely to mislead or deceive consumers,” says ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe.

“Misleading advertising may influence a consumer’s behaviour and impact their ability to make an informed purchasing decision during the sales.

“We will pay special attention to retailers who were identified as having problematic sales practices in the sweep we conducted during last year’s Black Friday and Boxing Day sales and expect to see improved compliance across the retail sector.”

Retailers that use misleading or deceptive tactics during the Black Friday sales period may face enforcement action by the ACCC.

The ACCC is encouraging consumers to be wary of broad claims about discounts or savings during Black Friday and to check for any disclaimers or conditions in sales advertisements.