Millions of Brits shop online for better deals, but not all bargains are genuine, according to a consumer expert. Lisa Webb, a lawyer at consumer group Which?, warns that retailers may inflate recommended retail prices (RRPs) to make discounts appear more attractive than they truly are.
Which? Investigation Reveals Inflated RRPs
The warning follows an investigation by Which? into retailers advertising heavily reduced prices without evidence to support these savings. The probe examined RRPs of items supposedly slashed in value. The RRP is the price manufacturers recommend for a product, aiming to ensure consistent pricing across retailers, though shops can sell above or below this figure.
Lisa Webb, speaking on BBC's Morning Live, explained: "We had a look at a bunch of different online marketplaces and we found sellers on there who were really inflating the RRP so that the price they were actually selling it at looked like a real steal." She argues that shoppers are "drawn in" by the prospect of a significant saving that may not be as good as claimed.
How to Check if an RRP Discount is Genuine
Webb recommends online shoppers verify a product's RRP if a discount seems too good to be true. A simple method is to run a reverse image search on Google to find all versions of the product image across the web, often leading to other websites selling the same item.
- On a mobile phone, press and hold the image of the item you wish to purchase, and an option to search with Google Lens should appear.
- On desktop computers or laptops, right-click the image and select 'search with Google Lens' or similar.
- This can reveal where the product is sold for the genuine RRP, and shoppers might find a better bargain from another brand by setting the search to 'exact matches'.
UK Law on Misleading RRPs
In the UK, laws prohibit retailers from using inflated RRP prices to fabricate fake discounts. Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008) and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (2024), misleading price comparisons are a criminal offence, punishable by fines up to 10% of a company's turnover. These regulations are enforced by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Trading Standards, and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Consumers are urged to stay vigilant and conduct quick checks before purchasing online to avoid being misled by exaggerated discounts.
