SALES have started in earnest all over Spain and the ministry for consumer affairs has once again reminded customers of their rights and what they should expect from retailers.
Focus is now being placed to a greater degree on online shopping, given the sharp increase in these channels since the start of the pandemic, with over 20 million purchases having been made via the internet in the past three months.
These, along with cosmetics, clothing and accessories, and packaging and delivery companies have created 176,000 jobs to cover the sales period, some of which may become permanent or long-term if demand remains in place.
A change in the law nearly a decade ago means retailers are allowed to hold sales whenever they like, enabling them to shift end-of-line stock months after replenishing their ranges and to boost business if they are flagging, as well as permitting entire towns to hold 'stock fairs' across their high streets on a given day or weekend.
Most stores continue to stick to the traditional summer and January sale periods, and although many start their reduced-price windows straight after Christmas to catch the present-buying rush for the Three Kings on the night of January 5 – or even just before Christmas to attract people seeking gifts – a high number of national and multi-national chains carry on with the old trend of opening their sales season the very day after the festivities finish, on January 7.
Guidelines for sales shopping
Every year, the ministry for consumer affairs or Spain's national consumer organisations – OCU and FACUA – issue advice for and warnings to shoppers, which rarely differ in their nature but which customers may need reminding of so they do not get caught out.
Payment methods accepted by retailers, online or in physical premises, cannot be limited or substantially altered just because prices are discounted – if they accept cards the rest of the year or for full-priced goods, they are not allowed to insist on cash in the sales or for reduced items.
All other conditions of sale, purchase, guarantee and after-sales service must remain the same as at any other time and irrespective of price alterations.
Changes in any of these aspects are only legal where they offer a greater choice or improvement in service to customers – such as increasing a guarantee for an item due to its being in the sales, or accepting additional payment methods not normally taken at other times.
Cooling-off periods or return and refund windows may not be shortened during the sales or for discounted goods.
For online sales, the cooling-off period, or the length of time during which products with no defects can be returned and refunded, remains at a legal minimum of 14 days and no extra costs within this timeframe may be levied on the consumer.
Price labels on sale items must include the original, as well as the discounted, cost, and goods in the sales cannot be defective to 'justify' the fact they are cheaper; quality, integrity, appearance and functioning must be the same as at full price.
Where defective, but otherwise useable, good are on sale – such as a jacket with a button missing but a spare one inside, or an item of furniture with a scratch mark on the back – the nature of their imperfections must be clearly stated.
Prices paid by customers must be those advertised - “we forgot to change the label,” or “someone put the wrong tag on it,” are not valid excuses.
When holding sales, shops are required to state the start and end date of these clearly, and good subject to sales must be set apart from those retailed at full price.
Unless a limit on available numbers is prominently stated, or clothing items are separately priced on a rack and the quantity on sale can actually be seen, retailers are required to have enough cut-price stock to meet demand for a given item during the period of time advertised.
This affects online sales to a greater degree, since stock limits cannot be clearly viewed by potential buyers.
Online sales in the past three months have mostly centred on clothing, accessories and footwear, and increased year on year by around 7.2%, says the ministry.
In terms of complaints about purchasing transactions online, 28.7% of these have been about delivery delays, 16.4% concerning technical issues with the website, and 15.1% over difficulties in finding necessary legal information such as guarantees and other rights, making these the most common problems reported, government figures show.
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A MERGER between two key telecommunications providers has now been finalised – Orange and MásMóvil will operate as a single company from April onwards.
