Retail Advertising Promotions and the Law

As the cashier was ringing up the last of my groceries she informed me that she couldn’t sell me the six boxes of frozen fish sticks that were moving slowly towards us on the conveyor. In disbelief I asked her why, to which she replied that she was only allowed to use one bag.

I began to search my mind trying to remember hearing any news of a plastic bag shortage in the area, or maybe it was a “green thing” and they were cutting back on bags and no one told me… my mind continued to race as I looked to the long line of shoppers behind me for help.

The woman directly behind me tried to be helpful and suggested that the cashier ring me up twice. The cashier made some comment about loosing her job if she rang up the fish sticks. Now my confusion began to turn to embarrassment as I told the cashier the sign posted on the freezer door said $4.99 each and the only reason I was buying them was that I was saving $2.50 on each one. To which she responded, that yes, she was aware of that…

Now my embarrassment started to turn to anger and I told her to just keep them all and let me pay for my other items so I could leave. It was at this point the cashier showed me the stores current circular. The store was having a promotion called “Celebrate Frozen Food Month – 30% Off All the Frozen Items You Can Fit in the Bag!” Apparently I had already reached my “one bag” limit and the six boxes of fish sticks would not be eligible for the 30% off — hallelujah — now I knew what she was talking about.

This store had made the following four mistakes with their advertising promotion:

1. They assumed all customers would read their circular and also understand it.

2. The promotional artwork on the circular showed two large paper shopping bags with actual handles, not the much smaller plastic bag the store actually used.

3. The circular had no disclaimer copy explaining the promotion and it’s rules.

4. The store signage did not explain the “one bag” policy or the 30% off. They posted the reduced dollar amounts ($4.99) and the dollar savings amounts ($2.50), throughout the store, with no mention of it being 30% off or of purchase limits.

I wonder if this store realized that they were leaving themselves wide open for trouble?

When two large shopping bags were shown in the advertising, it implied that those were the type of bags that would be used. This could be seen as deceptive advertising. And it gets worse, because without disclaimer copy in the circular or proper store signage, and with the reduced dollar prices and dollar savings posted on the freezer doors, plus, no purchase limits, a customer could have tried to buy ALL of EACH item posted.

Depending on the customers determination and the store’s policies, this promotion could have resulted in a lawsuit or an out-of-court settlement. However, legal action of this sort is usually saved for the chain stores where an opportunistic shopper has much more to gain.