Strikethrough price, countdown and extra costs: Notoria’s advice for making safe purchases on November 27th
November 27th is Black Friday 2026 and online windows are filled with red cards. But is it really all business? According to the latest European Commission survey, only 40% of the 314 online shops searched complied with the discount rules. 30% violated them, while for another 30% further investigations are needed. How to navigate between false offers and running timers? Here are five tricks suggested by Notoria, an Italian agency specializing in strategies for online stores.
Strikethrough prices and inflated discounts: how to check price history
From 2023, with the implementation of the European Omnibus Directive, anyone who announces a discount must take as a reference the lowest price charged in the previous 30 days. It doesn’t always happen. An example: a 100 euro jacket is brought to 130 and then “discounted” to 91 for Black Friday. A nice -30% appears on the price tag, but if in the last month the lowest price was 100 euros, the comparison must be made with that figure and the real saving is only 9%.
First tip: don’t stop at the previous month and check the progress of the last three months. The proposed discount percentage matters little: what really matters is the final price and its performance. Then there is a psychological factor, because the satisfaction of having made a deal can push you to buy even things you didn’t need.
Countdowns and “last pieces”: how to unmask the fake urgency
Running timers, running out of supplies, alerts like “other people are looking at this item”: everything pushes you to decide quickly. Pressure techniques are booming.
Second tip: return to the page after the stated deadline. If the offer is still there or the countdown has started from scratch, there is reason to be wary. In 2026, the Antitrust fined an online operator 2 million euros, challenging, among other things, the timers that restarted.
Almost identical models and tailor-made prices: the details to check
During Black Friday, televisions, appliances and electronic devices appear that resemble the most famous models but have different characteristics.
Third tip: always check the exact model code and technical specifications, without relying on the commercial name alone, which can make people believe that they are equivalent products that are not.
Fourth tip: view the price even without logging in, for example from an incognito window. Some sites show different numbers based on profile or loyalty programs.
“Spend 80 euros and receive a 20% discount”, or “12 more euros for free delivery”: formulas designed to fill the cart.
Fifth tip: calculate how much it really costs to get the advantage. If to get a 15 euro discount you need 50 more for things you don’t need, you have spent, not saved.
Also pay attention to the mandatory costs that appear at the end of the purchase and the optional products or services that 36% of operators have tried to add to the cart, sometimes without a clear request for consent. It is always better to read the summary before confirming the payment.
