The Holiday Season can be a reflective time for online retailers. That includes preparing for Christmas returns, sweepstakes and discounts that can lead to sales, but also bring with them one or two legal stumbling blocks.
Christmas deliveries are often a tightrope act. Logistics companies, overwhelmed by masses of parcels, often face difficult weather conditions and tight delivery deadlines. After all, parcels have to arrive on time for Christmas. Despite that, a binding and exact delivery time is obligatory in online retail. Phrases such as "expected", "circa" or "as a rule" are not allowed and their use may constitute an infringement of competition law. Likewise, "available until Christmas Eve" is an invalid specification. After all, customers must know when the package will reach them. A better specification would be "Delivery by 24/12." Further, if certain goods are no longer available, this should also be immediately apparent to customers. This can also be accompanied by a punctual delivery guarantee.
Clearly inform the customer about the contents and any guarantee limitations (no foreign deliveries, validity only for consumers, last day of order, etc.). Of course, consequences must also be indicated, such as partial reimbursement of the purchase price or the issuing of a voucher. But even without a special guarantee, retailers must ensure that the specified delivery date is met – difficult weather conditions are no excuse.
Legally, email advertising is a sensitive issue. Data protection generally requires the proven consent of the party being advertised to. Ideally, this is done using the double opt-in procedure. where Consent is first given by the interested party and then confirmed via an emailed link. Existing customers who have given their email addresses may also receive advertising for similar products to those they have already purchased. Customers may, however, object to this and must also be made aware of the right to object to advertisement. However, advertising does not only exist if the shop or the goods are advertised directly. Even messages with no direct advertisement can generate attention and thus be considered advertising.
Online Advent calendars are an especially popular marketing tool during the Holiday Season. Content varies greatly: from recipes to vouchers and discount coupons to prizes. However, as soon as content is directly commercially relevant, i.e. providing the customer with advantages or profits, competition law also becomes relevant. Clear and unambiguous conditions of participation are then a must, and the prizes should be randomly drawn from among all eligible participants. In addition, GDPR provisions must be accounted for. Participants must be informed about how their data is handled, and only for the purposes for which participants have consented.