Raising Prices and Increasing Discount Rates
Survey Conducted on Eight Home Shopping and E-commerce Platforms
A Korean beef gift set from an online shopping mall caught using deceptive sales tactics. Korea Consumer Agency
Cases have been identified where deceptive sales tactics were used for Chuseok gift sets sold through home shopping channels and e-commerce platforms, specifically by raising the original price and then increasing the discount rate.
On September 29, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that it had found instances of disguised discounts after surveying the prices of holiday gift sets (Korean beef and dried yellow corvina) at eight home shopping and online shopping platforms at the end of August and again two weeks later.
The survey covered major shopping platforms such as CJ OnStyle, Hyundai Home Shopping, GS Shop, Lotte Home Shopping, Coupang, Naver Shopping, Gmarket, and KakaoTalk Gift.
The agency pointed out cases where the original price was raised and the discount rate was increased. In the first survey, a Korean beef set with an original price of 185,000 won was sold at a 5% discount for 175,750 won. In the second survey, the same product was listed at 205,800 won and sold at a 20% discount, making it appear as if it was being offered at a much greater discount for 163,820 won.
In another case, a Korean beef set with an original price of 495,000 won was sold at a 69% discount for 149,900 won in the first survey. In the second survey, the original price was raised to 598,000 won and a 74% discount was applied, but the final price remained the same at 149,900 won.
There were also cases where only the original price was raised while the discount rate remained unchanged, resulting in a higher selling price. In the first survey, a Korean beef set with an original price of 189,000 won was sold at a 10% discount for 171,000 won. In the second survey, the original price was raised to 195,000 won and a 10% discount was applied, resulting in a selling price of 175,500 won.
The agency stated, "With the holiday peak season approaching, we urge the Fair Trade Commission and other relevant authorities to conduct more active price investigations and monitoring activities on online platforms. In particular, it is necessary to investigate and monitor how the original price (reference price), which serves as the basis for discount rates, is determined and how frequently it is changed."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
