Businesses should know that selling at the best price is not the only key to a consumer\u2019s satisfaction; Consumers appreciate transacting with businesses that have shown to be transparent and fair when it comes to service and product delivery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The introduction of The Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA)<\/a>, which took effect in March 2004, has helped protect the interest of consumers. In 2012, the Act was enhanced to include Lemon Law to protect consumers against goods that are not of satisfactory quality or performance at the time of delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Come November 2020, Guidelines on Price Transparency<\/a>, developed by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS), will take effect. The guidelines will set out how the CCCS will interpret the CPFTA to eradicate errant practices, as well as to provide greater clarity to businesses on the possible pricing practices that will potentially infringe the CPFTA, thus enabling consumers to make informed decisions when making a purchase. This is mainly in relation to display\/advertisement of prices and pricing practices such as time-limited discounts, free offers and price comparisons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CPFTA lists unfair practices that a seller may adopt such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a business, these are the four areas you should take note of with the introduction of the guidelines: drip pricing, price comparison, discounts and the use of the term \u201cfree\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read Also: <\/em><\/strong>Amazon, Lazada, Shopee, Qoo10: Which E-Commerce Platform Should You Use To Sell Your Products?<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Drip pricing is a pricing technique where only part of an item\u2019s price is advertised, with the total amount revealed at the end of the purchasing process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, the price of an air ticket listed in a newspaper advertisement may not be what the service will eventually cost to the consumer. This may include GST or hidden fees, such as booking fees and credit card fees that will only be added at the payment stage of the transaction, as well as the presence of pre-ticked boxes for certain charges during the purchase process, which is not indicated prominently to consumers who may end up purchasing unwanted services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the new guidelines, businesses should ensure the headline price displayed on advertisements include the mandatory fees, such as taxes, service fees and surcharges. Should any mandatory fees or charges cannot be reasonably calculated in advance, businesses should disclose the existence of such charges prominently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, businesses should adopt \u201copt-in\u201d or \u201copt-neutral\u201d approach when including add-ons, allowing consumers to check a box to select the specific add-ons they would like to have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read Also: <\/em><\/strong>Lalamove; GOGOX; RydeSEND; GrabExpress \u2013 Which Delivery Service Should Home-Based Businesses Use<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Businesses have known to make price comparisons with their competitors to indicate a price advantage, such as \u201cbest price in Singapore, our price $20, elsewhere $30\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, there may be cases where a business may advertise a price as having an advantage over their competitors when it may not be necessary so. For example, an electronics store may advertise the price of a model of earphones at $30, while indicating the price of $50 offered by their competitor. However, the competitor may retail the earphones at $30, with no obvious price advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In accordance with the new guidelines, businesses should ensure that any comparison made with their competitor\u2019s price are not misleading or inaccurate. Businesses should only compare the prices of goods or services that are generally accepted to be similar or equivalent by consumers or trade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, businesses should check and update reference prices regularly and keep records to prove that the price comparisons are not misleading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read Also:<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>Here\u2019s Why E-Mail Marketing Is Still Something Companies Cannot Afford To Ignore<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n There may be occurrences where businesses may advertise a false discount off the usual price of a good or service. One such example may be that discounts may be made in comparison with the pricing of a competitor\u2019s, instead of the original price of the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To avoid any confusion, businesses, when offering a discount or making comparison with the usual price, should ensure the information is reflected genuinely. For example, they should take reference the price benefit from the original price of the product, to use a price that has been used for a reasonable amount of time, and not to increase prices before applying discount on the product or service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, the duration of the discount, as well as any accompanying terms and conditions, should be stated clearly for consumers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n#1 \u2013 Drip Pricing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#2 Pricing Comparison<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#3 \u2013 Discounts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n