Shopping in the sales

You have the same consumer rights shopping in the sales as you do at any other time of the year. Read more about your rights if you buy goods, services, or digital content/ services.

What if I change my mind?

If you buy products or services online, over the phone or on your doorstep, you have a cooling off period where you can change your mind and get a refund. This applies regardless of whether or not you buy during a sale. Read more about your rights when you buy online, over the phone or on your doorstep.

If you buy in person from a shop, you are not always entitled to refund or exchange if you change your mind. It is up to each business to decide if they offer change of mind returns or cancellations. Businesses may also have a different returns policy during sales so you should check the returns policy before you buy.

How should sales prices be displayed?

Shops must clearly display the price of any goods that they sell. When running price promotions or ‘special offers’, it’s against the law for shops to give false or misleading information on prices.

When selling goods at a sale price, businesses must display the ‘prior price’. This should be the lowest price the goods were on sale for in the 30 days prior to the sale. For example, if a laptop is advertised as ‘was €700, now €500’, then it must not have been available for less than €700 in the 30 days before the sale started.

Learn more about how shops must display their pricing.

Last updated on 2 February 2023