Montenegro will step up inspections of retailers during Black Friday and other seasonal sales through the end of the year, the Ministry of Economic Development’s representative Željko Tomović said. The coordinated checks will be carried out as “sweep” actions by a joint network of competent authorities across all sectors.
The inspections are intended to establish whether advertised discounts reflect real price reductions and whether retailers comply with rules on displaying and charging prices. November is when many promotions and discounts begin, with Black Friday and New Year sales also due before the year ends.
Under the pricing rule, the reference price in an advertisement for a sale must be the lowest price applied during the previous 30 days. The rule was introduced to prevent retailers from raising a product’s price shortly before a sale and then presenting it as a large discount, Tomović said.
That practice could leave shoppers with no actual saving, or with a sale price only slightly below the earlier price. The heightened oversight is intended to prevent discounts from being marketing tricks and to check whether the reductions are genuine.
A separate issue is the difference that can arise between a price displayed on a shop shelf and the amount charged at the checkout. Tomović explained that consumers must pay the price shown on the shelf and that retailers are legally required to honour the displayed price.
The stated aim of the controls is for consumers to make real savings, rather than encounter promotions that are only attractive advertisements. The checks will take place during Black Friday and similar promotional sales, with the announced period running through the end of the year.
Consumers are advised to check the displayed price before buying, since not every discount is necessarily favourable. The controls will also examine whether the price charged at the till matches the price shown to shoppers before purchase.
