Omnibus directive, online reviews and other new regulations for entrepreneurs for 2023 – check what to look out for
The turn of the old year and the new year, is for every entrepreneur a period of inventory, recapitulation, balance sheets, but also to get acquainted and apply to the “new rules of the game” on the local, national or global economic platform. What are the most important things that await us in 2023, in terms of SEO/SEM? New year, new regulations for entrepreneurs – check out what you should pay attention to.
Omnibus directive – regulations coming into force on January 1, 2023
With the coming year, new regulations related to the EU’s “Omnibus” directive come into force as of the first of January 2023. The so-called “Omnibus” directive is aimed at increasing the safety of users during their purchases. Both direct safety but especially indirect safety. Here we are referring to the techniques of artificial overpricing used by some vendors, with the aim of lowering them later, if necessary, for the purpose of demonstrating a large price promotion. We should also not overlook an important issue in the topic of online reviews. We invite you to read on! In connection with the above, the Omnibus Directive imposes an additional obligation on Online Sellers. Namely, the Seller is obliged to present not only the current price, but also a link to the archived price of the product from the last 30 calendar days. Thanks to this, the customer will have the knowledge and awareness of how the price of a given product has evolved in the period up to 30 days back. Depending on the store software used, the implementation of a suitable technical solution can be done in several different ways and should be tailored to individual needs.
At the same time, if you need assistance in implementing functionality, adapting your store to the “Omnibus” directive – we invite you to contact us to arrange the details.
Omnibus directive – sanctions
Failure to comply with the new regulations could result in a financial penalty. Up to 20 thousand zlotys for lack of information on the lowest archival price, and up to 40 thousand zlotys if this violation is repeated three times within a 12-month period. In special situations, the president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection may impose a penalty of up to 10 percent of turnover (achieved in the year preceding the imposition of the penalty).
Omnibus directive – is it worth introducing
Regardless of the amount of penalties or the possibility of sanctioning at all – it is worth introducing this solution on the store. First of all, then we give a clear signal to our customers that we have nothing to hide, our pricing policy is fair and we, as a professional store, treat our buyers seriously. By the way, we do not expose ourselves to unpleasant legal consequences.
Do you need help implementing the functionality resulting from the Omnibus Directive and would like to outsource it to us? Give us a call!
Changes with regard to issued opinions
In the same directive, the subject of posting and collecting opinions on the Internet was also clarified. Online reviews can both recommend and discourage a particular service or purchase. The number of positive reviews in at least a Google Maps business card has an indirect impact on the visibility of our offer and its competitiveness/attractiveness. As a result, some vendors were eager to boost “statistics” with artificial or custom-written reviews. On this topic, too, the European Union has recognized the threat to the security of online shopping and has decided to regulate the issue more strictly, and to introduce specific sanctions.
Online reviews – new regulations from January 2023.
“Where a trader provides access to consumer reviews of products, information on whether and how the trader ensures that the published reviews come from consumers who have actually used or bought the product is considered relevant.” In view of the above, an entrepreneur selling online is obliged to take measures which the new information obligation will be able to fulfill, as long as, of course, he still wants to provide users of his site with opinions about products or services. As we observe, the first solutions are already appearing, aimed at creating technical possibilities for fulfilling this obligation. One of the basic ones is to publish, together with the opinion, information on the customer’s order number (thus matching a specific order with the presented opinion) or verification via e-mail (for example, opinions issued by registered users).
Information obligation – sharing product or service reviews online.
In the case of the exclusion of the possibility of giving opinions on products – one could say that the problem disappears and it is sufficient only to inform that the seller does not publish opinions on the products he sells. Quite differently this provision is reflected in the situation of presentation of such opinions. Then not only the opinions themselves should be made available, but at the same time information on:
– how the verification is carried out, whether the opinion comes from a person who actually bought or used the product);
– whether both positive and negative opinions are subject to publication, or whether any limitations are applied;
– the source of the opinion;
– how the average opinion is calculated (if any is presented);
– whether the opinions have any sponsorship character (whether there are any arrangements or commercial agreements that may affect the reliability of the opinion). As a rule, this information should be transparent and fully accessible to consumers, made available within the same interface on which the publication of opinions is made (so it is doubtful whether such information can be placed simply in the regulations – time will tell how this provision will be practically applied).
Online reviews – what is not allowed?
Significantly, one of the prohibited manipulative actions was indicated contacting customers in order to persuade them to change a previously issued opinion or remove a negative opinion altogether. In this context, it is puzzling to see the practice, particularly on Allegro or other similar sales platforms, of actions aimed at changing an after-sales opinion. That is, to write directly, for this example, the change of a negative comment issued by the Buyer, under the influence of targeted actions of the Seller – this action will no longer be fully allowed. We are watching with interest the topic and the development of how e-commerce will respond to these new conditions.
The Omnibus Directive itself also introduces many other minor changes or details, it is certainly worth reading the entire legislation and choosing what applies directly to our industry. Above we have described in a fairly comprehensive way what is most relevant overall for the e-commerce industry :).
Significant changes in opportunities for promotion and presentation of offerings in the medical industry
It is also worth mentioning the changes that will affect the broader medical industry. As of January 2023, there will be restrictions on the topic of presenting information and offers on specialized products, equipment and services in the broader medical industry. The change affects specialized equipment and products, and their possible use by non-specialists. This includes popular aesthetic medicine clinics or services related to substances for subcutaneous injection. This is such an extensive topic that a separate article on it will appear soon, but we are mentioning it now, as we are seeing a big stir in the industry due to its popularity.
Summary (literally in a few sentences):
- The omnibus goes into effect on January 1, 2023;
- The need to present an archive of the product price up to 30 calendar days back;
- The need to regulate the topic of presenting and publishing product reviews on websites/webshops;
- New regulations vs;
- Need help with implementing the provisions of the Omnibus Directive? Write or call us, we’ll be happy to help!
