Several stores raise their prices well in advance of sales periods in order to then be able to advertise discounts, according to the price comparison site Prisjakt. In this way, the Price Information Act is circumvented.
Minister Erik Slottner (KD), who is responsible for consumer affairs, agrees with Sweden's consumers who believe that the legislation is being circumvented by the stores and that it is a matter of price manipulation.
This is an abuse of the stricter Price Information Act that came into effect a few years ago. So this is very serious and that is also why the Swedish Consumer Agency is carrying out supervision of these companies. Because this is not how it should be, says Erik Slottner.
The current Price Information Act was updated in 2022 – companies must now report the lowest price an item has had in the last 30 days when they reduce prices. The law was created to combat misleading marketing, where prices are temporarily raised and then lowered ahead of sales.
Will the government open up to reviewing the provisions of the Price Information Act?
Yes or if other measures are needed, the law is quite new. But we must always be open to either making changes to the law or taking other measures to strengthen consumer protection.
