Running Sales Promotions Under the EU Omnibus Directive

The EU Omnibus Directive has changed how brands run discount promotions across Europe. With tighter rules around how discounts are communicated, compliance is no longer something businesses can afford to overlook. Which is why many are exploring smarter alternatives. 

In this article, we’ll walk you through what the EU Omnibus Directive means for your business and why cashback is a more flexible, compliant-friendly alternative. 

The EU Omnibus Directive (EU 2019/2161) is a piece of EU legislation first introduced in 2019 to strengthen consumer rights protection across Europe. It sets clear rules around pricing transparency, fake customer reviews, the integrity of online marketplaces and digital services.  

The aim of the Directive is to make it harder for businesses to mislead consumers and easier for authorities to hold them accountable.

Pricing Transparency 

The EU Omnibus Directive introduced the so-called 30-day pricing rule that changed how brands communicate price reductions. Any advertised discount must reference the lowest price the business charged in the 30 days before the discount was applied. Not the regular price. 

The Directive also tightened the rules around progressive discounts. For example, if a discount is being increased gradually (e.g., 10% -> 20% -> 30%), the reference price must be the price before the first discount was applied. 

Customer Reviews 

The Omnibus Directive also addresses the problem with fake customer views, and it prohibits: 

• Claiming reviews come from verified purchasers without checking 

• Submitting or commissioning fake reviews or social media likes 

• Deleting negative reviews while keeping positive ones 

Online Marketplaces 

For businesses operating on online marketplaces, the Directive introduces clear transparency obligations: 

• Sellers must clearly disclose when paid placement affects search result rankings 

• Online marketplaces must explain the main criteria that determines how products are ranked 

• Marketplaces must tell consumers whether they are buying from a seller or a private individual as this affects their legal rights 

Personalised Pricing 

Under the EU Omnibus Directive, if the price has been personalised using automated decision-making (e.g., algorithmic profiling of the consumer), this must be clearly disclosed so consumers can make informed decisions. 

The EU Omnibus Directive is a step in the right direction for transparent business practices and modern consumer protection rules. While the purpose is clear, the practical implications for businesses, especially those running promotional campaigns often, should be evaluated carefully. 

Compliance Complexity 

Discount promotions have become more complex to manage. Brands must keep accurate historical pricing records, navigate country-specific implementations, maintain retail-pricing consistency and plan promotional timing carefully.  

Limited Promotional Flexibility 

Frequent discounting across multiple markets comes with increased operational and legal complexity. What works as a straightforward promotion in one country may require a very different approach in another, making it harder to run consistent, pan-European campaigns. 

Pressure on Pricing Strategy 

The transparency obligations introduced by the Omnibus Directive may cause some brands to think twice before running aggressive discount promotions. With more scrutiny around pricing transparency, there’s less room for promotional strategies that rely on traditional discounts. 

Penalties  

Brands that fail to comply are at risk for significant financial penalties. Fines can reach up to 4% of annual turnover or up to €2 million where turnover data isn’t available.  

Beyond the financial impact, non-compliance can cause lasting damage to brand trust and reputation. 

To answer to the strict rules under the EU Omnibus Directive, brands are searching for effective and compliant-friendly alternatives to regular price discounts. One such alternative is cashback promotions.  

If you’re looking for a more detailed comparison, see our guide to cashback vs discounts.  

Here’s why cashback is worth considering for your next promotional campaign: 

• Shelf price is preserved  

With cashback promotions, brands don’t have to change the regular product price, which means they sidestep the 30-day pricing rule and the discount-comparison requirements. The price on the shelf stays consistent and the post-purchase reward does the heavy lifting. 

• Consumer incentive remains strong 

Cashback still gives customers a compelling reason to buy. The mechanics are different from a traditional discount, but the appeal is just as strong – if not more. Customers get money back after the purchase, creating a rewarding experience without compliance complexity. 

• More flexibility in how you promote 

One of cashback’s biggest advantages is the flexibility. Brands can run co-branded incentives, build conditional offers, launch multi-buy and bundling promotions, combine cashback with other promotions, run the same campaigns seamlessly across multiple locations and more. 

Discounts still have their place, but they’re no longer a straightforward tool. In this changing promotional landscape, the brand that thrive will be the ones that look beyond the price cut and find smarter, more sustainable ways to drive sales and reward loyalty. 

Cashback is one viable solution to the challenges we discussed in this article. But like any promotional tool, it needs careful planning, execution and tailoring to business needs and markets you operate in.  

That’s where Benamic comes in. We help brands with compliant, scalable cashback solutions designed for modern consumer marketing. 

Chat to us about compliant promotions.