How do I ensure fair trading compliance in discount advertising?

Fair Trading Compliance in Discount Advertising

Fair trading laws exist in every major market. They share a common principle: commercial practices that materially affect consumer decisions must be honest. Discount advertising is a frequent target of enforcement because inflated "was" prices and fake urgency are widespread.

What Constitutes Deceptive Discount Advertising

The Reference Price Standard

For a "was/now" price to be compliant, the original price must have been the genuine offering price for a reasonable period. The FTC uses a "good faith" standard - was the price charged in good faith as the normal selling price? Most regulators require at least 28 days at the reference price with genuine sales volume.

Compliant Urgency vs. Fake Urgency

Genuine urgency - a sale that actually ends on a specific date, with codes that truly expire - is fully legal and highly effective. The distinction between compliant and deceptive urgency is simple: does the offer actually end when you say it does?

Growth Suite's server-side code deletion ensures offers genuinely expire at the stated time - codes are deleted from Shopify's backend, not just hidden by the timer. This makes every countdown timer fully compliant with fair trading standards across all jurisdictions.