The Ethiopian Trade Competition and Consumers Protection Authority has issued a warning to merchants who use unclear ‘sale’ practices to drive their sales and otherwise dupe customers.
According to the authority, merchants in the country are engaged in practices where they announce a ‘sale’ or ‘discount’ that is fraudulent in order to convince customers that the prices displayed are lower than usual.
The authority affirms that this practice is prevalent among clothing and electronics merchants. The warning affirms that the authority will be strictly monitoring business environments in the country and taking decisive measures on those engaged in this and similar practices.
As such, the authority has expressed that it will be issuing directives that specify how ‘sales’ and ‘discount’ should be implemented. Primary among these measures should be clear indications of which specific items are on sale and tags showing the previous price as well as the discounted one.
One of the practices that the authority will be cracking down on is posting a ‘sale’ sign outside of a shop or store and failing to post similar signs inside and on specific products.