Whilst most in-store material is not covered by the CAP Code, promotional marketing which offers savings on a temporary basis is. So whether you advertise your promotions in broadcast media, non-broadcast media or in-store, the advice below will help you make sure that you don’t mislead consumers.

“Great savings today only!”

Savings claims, such as “60% off”, “up to 70% off”, or “was £100 now £80”, must not mislead by being inaccurate or exaggerating the savings that can be made.

Where ads quote an RRP, this must not significantly differ from the price at which the product is generally sold across the market - any savings claims against an RRP have to be based on the price that the customer would generally have to pay. An ad which stated “50% off…RRP £1276.17 £638.09 Save £638.08” was found to be misleading because the advertiser could not show that the product was generally sold at the RRP.

If ads display a “was” price to demonstrate the savings which can be made, it must represent the genuine ‘normal’ selling price. This should usually be the price at which the product was available for a reasonable time before the reduction. In addition it should not generally be available at the reduced price for longer than the “was” price.

When using “up to”, at least 10% of products should be available with the maximum saving. If a store advertises “up to 30% off all sofas”, at least 10% of those sofas should be available with 30% off.

“25% off everything” (well, not everything)

Consumers will understand the use of “everything” or “all” in ads to really mean everything or all. If certain restrictions or exclusions apply, the use of these words is likely to mislead. Even if any exclusions are listed in the terms and conditions, this will contradict the headline claim, rather than clarifying it. An ad which stated “BUY 1 GET 1 HALF PRICE ON EVERYTHING! ... Mix and Match across ALL categories” broke the rules because exclusions applied.

“See terms and conditions”

Ensure that any information which may affect a consumer’s understanding of the promotion, including any significant conditions, is included in the ad and that it is clearly presented to the consumer before they make a transactional decision.

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