Three major retailers have paid penalties for allegedly making false and misleading representations about their Black Friday sales. Each retailer paid a penalty of $19,800 after the ACCC issued them with one infringement notice each.
This follows an ACCC sweep of dozens of sales advertisements for last year’s Black Friday and post-Christmas sales events which identified concerns that the ads misrepresented the size and scope of discounts being offered to consumers.
The ACCC issued one infringement notice each to Michael Hill Jeweller (Australia) Pty Ltd (Michael Hill), Global Retail Brands Australia Pty Ltd (GRBA) in relation to its homewares business MyHouse, and Hairhouse Warehouse Online Pty Ltd (Hairhouse Online) which operates the Hairhouse hair and beauty website, because the ACCC alleged that the businesses were misrepresenting the nature of their sales, including by falsely describing discounts as applying ‘sitewide’.
“We allege these claims misled consumers that all goods in the physical or online store were discounted, or that the discounts were greater than was actually the case,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.
“Advertisements that talk about ‘sitewide’ or ‘storewide’ sales or promise discounts ‘off everything’ should deliver what customers expect, and not be used by retailers to hook consumers under false pretences.”
“Businesses are legally obliged to accurately describe their sale offers and should not use small point disclaimers to terms and conditions to disguise the real extent of their offers,” Ms Lowe said.
“During the EOFY sales, retailers should be aware that we will continue to keep an eye on sales promotions to ensure consumers are not being misled, and retailers may face enforcement action if they make sales representations that contravene the Australian Consumer Law.”
Michael Hill pays penalty for “25% off Sitewide” sale ad
Jewellery business Michael Hill, a subsidiary of Michael Hill International Limited (ASX: MHJ), has paid one infringement notice issued by the ACCC, totalling $19,800 in relation to an alleged misleading representation about its Black Friday sale.
Its online advertisement promoted the sale with the words ‘Member Event 25% off Sitewide’.
“Michael Hill’s statement may have misled consumers, and contravened the Australian Consumer Law, because some of the products in its online store were not part of the sale and were not discounted,” Ms Lowe said.
MyHouse pays penalty amid ACCC concern its ad was misleading
Homewares retailer GRBA paid its $19,800 penalty after the ACCC issued it with one infringement notice in relation to its MyHouse store’s online Black Friday sale ad which the ACCC alleges was misleading.
The ad displayed on the MyHouse website during the sale included:
- a ribbon banner stating ‘Black Friday Up to 60% Off Sitewide + EXTRA 20% off’; and
- a large headline graphic stating ‘Up to 60% OFF RRP EVERYTHING ON SALE’ followed by the text ‘+EXTRA 20% OFF’
“We say this was misleading because the extra 20 per cent discount was not available on all of its products,” Ms Lowe said.
“Retailers need to ensure that their advertising makes it clear to consumers which products are discounted, and by how much.”
Hairhouse Online allegedly misleads consumers with ‘Save 20% to 50% sitewide’ ads
Hairhouse Online paid one infringement notice of $19,800, in relation to its online ad for its Black Friday sale with the statement: ‘SAVE 20% to 50% SITEWIDE’.
The ACCC considered the statement misled consumers that all items on its website would be discounted by between 20 and 50 per cent for the duration of the Black Friday sale, when in fact more than a quarter of the products on its website were not included in the sale offer.
“Businesses that make false discount claims not only risk misleading consumers, they also compete unfairly against other businesses which correctly state the nature of their sales,” Ms Lowe said.
Note
The ACCC can issue an infringement notice when it has reasonable grounds to believe a person or business has contravened certain consumer protection provisions in the Australian Consumer Law.
The payment of a penalty specified in an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the Australian Consumer Law. The Australian Consumer Law sets the penalty amount.
Background
Michael Hill Jeweller (Australia) Pty Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Michael Hill International Limited which has its headquarters in Brisbane. The Michael Hill retail group is a specialty retailer of jewellery which operates about 170 bricks-and-mortar stores in Australia and also operates in New Zealand and Canada.
Homewares business MyHouse is operated by homewares and kitchen goods retailer GRBA as an online business and in 28 physical stores in Australia. GRBA also operates a range of similar businesses such as House, Robins Kitchen, House Bed & Bath and Baccarat.
Hairhouse Online is a related entity of The Hairhouse Warehouse Pty Ltd, a private company based in Melbourne with 125 stores across Australia, offering haircuts, hair extensions spray tans, manicures, waxing, make-up and other hair and beauty services.
In December 2024, following a sweep of advertisements, the ACCC raised concerns about a range of concerning practices in Black Friday sales promotions, from ‘sitewide’ discounts that were not in fact sitewide, potentially misleading ‘was/now’ pricing, as well as dubious claims about the value of discounts on offer.
One of the ACCC’s Compliance and Enforcement Priorities for 2025-26 is ‘consumer and fair trading concerns in the supermarket and retail sectors, with a focus on misleading pricing practices’.
/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.