CCPC and EU consumer authorities urge SHEIN to stop pressuring consumers to buy
May 26, 2025
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), along with national consumer authorities in Belgium, France and The Netherlands, and the European Commission, has called on online marketplace and e-retailer, SHEIN, to rectify several practices on its platform that potentially breach EU consumer law. Issues include fake discounts, pressure selling tactics, and unclear information regarding consumer rights. SHEIN has one month to propose commitments on how they will address these issues.
Issues identified include:
- Fake discounts: Pretending to offer better deals by showing price reductions that are not based on the actual prior prices as required by EU law.
- Pressure tactics: Using false deadlines to put pressure on consumers to purchase.
- Missing information: Displaying incomplete and incorrect information about a consumer’s rights to return goods and receive refunds.
- Deceptive product labels: Using product labels that suggest the product offers something special when in fact the relevant feature is required by law.
- Misleading claims: Giving false or deceptive information about the sustainability benefits of certain products.
- Hidden contact details: Making it difficult for consumers to contact SHEIN with questions or complaints.
Information has also been requested to assess the company’s compliance with further obligations including those around product rankings, ratings and reviews, and third-party sellers.
The ongoing investigation, which is being carried out through the European Commission’s Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network, is co-led by the CCPC, Belgium’s Directorate General for Economic Inspection, France’s Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control and The Netherlands’ Authority for Consumers and Markets, under the coordination of the European Commission.
SHEIN now has one month to propose commitments on how they will address the identified consumer law issues. Depending on SHEIN’s reply, the CPC Network may enter a dialogue with the company. If SHEIN fails to address the concerns identified, national authorities can investigate further and may take enforcement measures to ensure compliance, which may include fines based on its annual turnover in the relevant member states.
Patrick Kenny, CCPC Commission member, said:
Return to News“Consumers should be allowed to shop without being put under pressure by fake deadlines or misled by fake discounts. They also need clear information about how consumers can contact the company, how to return an item and receive a refund. In this case, the CCPC and the CPC Network have identified several practices that could mislead consumers or undermine their consumer rights.
E-retailers and online marketplaces have a legal obligation to provide transparent and honest information about the products they sell, and consumers’ rights around returns. The CCPC takes any breaches of the law very seriously and looks forward to constructive engagement with SHEIN during the course of this investigation.”
