Regarding the Guideline on Advertisements Containing Price Information and Discounted Sales Advertisements and Commercial Practices

On 18 April 2022, the “Guideline on Advertisements Containing Price Information and Discounted Sales Advertisements and Commercial Practices” (“Guideline”), prepared within the scope of the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices and adopted as Principle Decision No. 2022/1 of the Advertising Board, was published in order to guide advertisers, advertising agencies, media organizations, sellers, providers, intermediary service providers, and all persons, institutions, and organizations related to advertising activities.

The important principles and rules introduced under the Guideline are presented below for your information and consideration.

1. Fundamental Principles

Pursuant to the Guideline, the following rules shall apply regarding advertising processes containing price information and discounts:

1. All delivery and postal charges payable by the consumer shall be included in the displayed price.

If it is not possible to calculate such charges in advance, consumers must be informed through statements such as:

“Delivery charges apply and may vary depending on the destination.”

2. Options subject to additional charges shall not be automatically selected without obtaining the consumer’s consent.

Additional paid options must not be presented as pre-selected unless the consumer has expressly approved such options.

3. Expressions such as “net”, “all”, “everything” shall not be used in discount advertisements unless they apply to all products and services in the store or within a specific category.

If discounts apply only to certain product or service groups, explanatory statements such as:

• “winter season products”;

• “products with blue labels”

must be used in order to inform consumers.

Additionally, expressions such as:

• “up to … discount”;

• “starting from …”

must be displayed in a readable size in advertisements for discounted products or services.

4. Products or services cannot be presented as being available only for a very limited period or under certain conditions in a misleading manner in order to encourage consumers to make immediate decisions.

2. Rules Regarding the Display of Price Information

According to the Guideline, the following rules must be observed when displaying price information:

1. The total sales price including all taxes and, if applicable, all costs arising from delivery that must be paid by the consumer must be presented.

If payment by installments is available, the number of installments and the installment price must also be clearly indicated.

2. If there is a stock limitation or time limitation regarding the validity of the price, the duration and stock quantity must be clearly stated.

3. In cases where personalized pricing applies, the current sales price and the personalized price must be displayed together in the same area.

3. Rules Regarding the Display of Discounted Price Information

According to the Guideline, the following rules shall apply when displaying discounted price information:

1. Discount advertisements must clearly indicate:

• the price before the discount;

• the starting and ending dates of the discounted sale;

• the stock quantity, if there is a stock limitation.

2. Determination of the Previous Sales Price

When determining the sales price before the discount, the lowest price applied within the 30-day period before the discount date must be taken as the basis.

However, there is no requirement to indicate how long the lowest price during this 30-day period was applied.

For products or services that were offered for sale less than 30 days before the discount announcement, the lowest price applied before the discount announcement shall be taken as the reference price.

Example 1:

A coat priced at TRY 100 on 1 March 2022 is sold with a 50% discount for TRY 50 between 5–8 March 2022.

If the same coat, originally priced at TRY 100, is offered for TRY 40 as of 15 March 2022, the discount rate cannot be announced as 60%.

The discount rate must be calculated as 20%, and the crossed-out reference price displayed to consumers must be TRY 50, not TRY 100.

Example 2:

Assume that a product has:

• Current sales price: TRY 100;

• Lowest sales price within the last 30 days: TRY 80.

If the seller wants to announce a “TRY 40 discount”, the reference price for the discount must be TRY 80, the discount amount must be TRY 40, and the discounted sales price must be announced as TRY 40.

Similarly, if the seller wants to announce a “40% discount”, the reference price must be TRY 80, the discount amount must be TRY 32, and the discounted sales price must be announced as TRY 48.

On the other hand, if the seller does not wish to announce a discount or display a crossed-out price, the seller may determine the sales price of the product as TRY 60, since there is no “discounted price advertisement” in such a case.

3. If discount expressions such as:

• “great opportunities”;

• “star days”;

• “amazing Friday”;

• “magnificent November”;

• “20% discount on all products today”

are used, the lowest price applied within the previous 30 days for each product or service covered by the advertisement must be indicated.

4. Rules Regarding Discounted Sales Conducted Through Different Sales Platforms

Products or services may be sold through different sales platforms and through the provider’s own platforms and stores with different prices and campaigns.

Accordingly, rules regarding the obligation to display prices for discounted and regular sales, including the requirement to use the lowest sales price applied within the previous 30 days as the reference price, shall apply separately for each relevant platform where the sale is conducted.

In addition, sales prices advertised by a seller on one e-commerce platform cannot be used or announced as the pre-discount price for discounts applied on other e-commerce platforms.

5. Rules Regarding Region-Based Discounted Sales

It is possible to conduct regional pricing and discount campaigns instead of applying the same pricing throughout all stores operating in Türkiye.

In such cases, advertisements made for specific regions must use the lowest sales price applied within the previous 30 days specifically for that region.

6. Situations Where the Rules of This Guideline Do Not Apply

The above-mentioned principles shall not apply to the following situations:

1. Conditional sales such as:

• “Buy 3, pay for 2”;

• “Buy 1, get 1 free”;

• “TRY 50 discount over TRY 500 purchases”;

• “20% discount on the product”;

• “Buy 3, get 30% discount in the basket”.

2. Advertisements based on comparisons of discounted sales prices, such as:

• “best price”;

• “lowest price”.

3. Loyalty programs or practices allowing consumers to accumulate points for future purchases.

4. Personalized price discounts that do not constitute an announcement of a general price reduction.

For these cases, the price advantage targeted through such sales must be proven in accordance with the other provisions of the Regulation.