"Black Friday originated in the USA. But in recent years, it has become increasingly popular here too. Americans have always been consumers on a much larger scale than Europeans. But of course there is also this phenomenon in Latvia and it has spread in Europe. Especially in the internet environment, I think because the internet environment for us is global, and if you have online stores in America that offer discounts that day, then you have to think of something to keep up with," says Andris Saulītis, a senior researcher at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Latvia.
But what do you need to do to avoid falling victim to a scam when you're looking for the lowest price in an online shop? Look at reviews and complaints, information about the seller. It would be a good idea to look at the previous price of the product and compare it with other online shops.
"Sometimes we make uninformed decisions and when it comes to shopping, this is linked to what is known as 'anchoring'. We look at prices in the context of what information is available to us. On a website, we see the previous price and the new price. Rather than wondering whether the new price is adequate, we think about how much we have saved. That's actually not a bad thing," says Saulītis.
Zaiga Liepiņa, head of PTAC, said that traders should indicate their promotional prices on the basis of the lowest price that the product has had in the last 30 days. Artificially increasing the price shortly before a promotion is an unfair commercial practice. PTAC will monitor traders during promotions to identify this using an AI tool.
"This is an artificial intelligence tool with digital skills, chosen as very effective across the EU after last year's experience, which can also identify when prices have been at a certain level... Have they gone up, what level, what level down," said Liepiņa.
Last year, across the EU, 72% of cases found infringements and consumer deception. This year, if caught, PTAC could impose fines of up to €300,000.
Last year across the EU, in almost 52% of cases, the price discounted was unrealistic and artificially inflated compared to the price of the goods before
EU and Latvian rules require discounts to be given at the lowest price in the last 30 days to protect consumers from being misled.
