Furniture retailer Oak Furniture Superstore has been told to clarify future savings claims as an advert was deemed as misleading.
Oak Furniture Superstore’s website, www.oakfurnituresuperstore.co.uk, seen on 15 April 2024, displayed a banner at the top of the home page featuring text which stated “SPRING SAVINGS EVENT LAST CHANCE Hurry! Ends in 0 Days 05 Hours 08 Minutes 21 Seconds”.
In a search box, text stated “herringbone” and underneath were displayed the search results showing images of various furniture products accompanied by text showing “Was” prices compared to “Now” prices. Text stated “Herringbone Solid Oak Super King Bed Now £699 Was £999 [crossed out] Save £300”.
The complainant challenged whether the use of the countdown clock misleadingly implied that the sales promotion was time limited, because the same promotion was still available under a new name shortly after the countdown ended; and if the savings claims were misleading and could be substantiated.
In response, Moreham Wood Ltd, trading as Oak Furniture Superstore, said the countdown clock on their website clearly indicated to customers that the promotion was ending on the advertised date. The Flash Savings promotion entitled customers purchasing any product included within the promotion to an extra five per cent off the sale price with a unique promotional discount code. The discount code was again clearly advertised on the Flash Savings promotional page. The discount code expired in line with the promotion end date.
A new Price Drop promotion began on 18 April and ran until 19 April. The Price Drop promotion entitled customers purchasing the products included within the promotion to an extra five per cent off the sale price with a unique promotional discount code. The promotional code expired in line with the promotion end date.
Different products were on promotion as part of the Price Drop event, so the same products were not eligible for a promotional saving across the Flash Savings promotion and the Price Drop promotion. To avoid customer confusion and ensure a clear separation of promotions, they used a unique colour pallet for each promotion. The colour change was also replicated in the banner that housed the countdown clock.
Following a review by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), said the ad did not make clear that only selected products were included in the promotion and implied that all the products on sale were in a time-limited promotion which would revert to the usual price when the countdown ended, when that was not the case, and concluded the ad was misleading.
“The ad must not appear again in the form complained of,” the ASA said. “We told Oak Furniture Superstore to ensure that their future ads made the basis of their promotions clear, including where the promotion applied only to selected items and how to access the included products. We also told them to ensure that future savings claims did not mislead and that they substantiated savings claims against the usual selling prices of their products.”
