Press release

CMA calls on Emma Sleep to change its online sales practices

The CMA is calling on the mattress firm to change its selling practices, which could be putting unfair pressure on customers to make quick purchases

• From: Competition and Markets Authority
• Published: 7 July 2023

In November last year, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation following concerns about Emma Sleep’s online selling practices – including whether its ‘urgency claims’, such as countdown timers and ‘discounts’, were misleading consumers.

As a result of its investigation, the CMA has found evidence that discount claims made by Emma Sleep did not stack up against the actual savings made by customers. The CMA also has concerns that the firm’s use of countdown timers and claims of high demand for certain products could mislead consumers, and therefore breach consumer protection law.

Emma Sleep’s website is noted to feature extensive ‘discount’ offers [see Figure 1 below], illustrated by what is known as ‘was/now’ pricing, i.e., where a retailer shows the original (higher) price of a product and its ‘now’ (cheaper) price. During its investigation, the CMA found evidence that only a small fraction of Emma Sleep products were actually sold at the ‘full’ price – as such, the ‘discount’ did not represent a genuine saving against the usual selling price of Emma Sleep’s products.

Figure 1

These discounts were used in conjunction with countdown clocks. While such clocks can sometimes help shoppers to take advantage of genuine sales, the CMA found that when an Emma Sleep ‘sale’ concluded, it was quickly replaced by another – in some instances within 24 hours. The CMA considers that countdown clocks [see Figure 2 below] used by Emma Sleep risked giving the misleading impression that discounts would soon end, and products would return to full price, when this was often not the case. Such timers, especially when used with other high demand claims, can put pressure on shoppers to buy quickly for fear they’ll miss out on a sale. This can lead to rushed purchases or consumers spending more than they planned to bag a perceived bargain.

Figure 2

The CMA has today written to Emma Sleep detailing its concerns and outlining the ways in which it can address these, which include stopping the use of misleading countdown timers and discount offers.

Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, said:

Companies that use fake countdown clocks or misleading ‘discounts’ risk pressuring people into making quick purchases and often spending more money than they otherwise would for fear of missing out. This is especially concerning given the current pressure on people’s pockets.

We have put a number of detailed concerns to Emma Sleep about its sales tactics. The CMA looks to Emma Sleep to agree to change the way it does business to avoid the risk of court action.

Emma Sleep now has the opportunity to respond to the CMA’s concerns and avoid court action by signing undertakings to change its online sales tactics.

For more information, visit the Emma Sleep inquiry page.

Notes to editors

1. The CMA’s investigation concerns Emma Sleep GmbH, Emma Matratzen GmbH, Emma Sleep UK Limited and other firms in the same corporate group and their directors (‘Emma Sleep’).
2. The investigation into Emma Sleep is part of the CMA’s programme of consumer enforcement work focused on ‘Online Choice Architecture’, which is aimed at tackling potentially harmful online selling practices, including pressure selling tactics such as urgent time limited claims. The CMA’s investigation into Wowcher is also part of this programme.
3. The CMA investigation has focused on evidence relating to Emma Sleep’s online business practices which occurred between 1 November 2021 and 30 November 2022.
4. The CMA launched its Online Rip-Off Tip-Off campaign earlier this year, which revealed that 71% of people shopping online had encountered misleading selling tactics.
5. As an enforcer under Part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002, the CMA cannot levy administrative fines, but it can enforce the above legislation through the courts, and where appropriate, obtain additional measures to improve consumer choice, drive better compliance with the law, or obtain redress for consumers. Currently only a court can rule on whether a person has infringed consumer law.
6. The main consumer protection legislation relevant to the CMA’s concerns about misleading time limited online discounts is the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs). The CPRs aim to protect consumers from unfair commercial practices such as the misleading provision or omission of information as part of sales processes.
7. At present, it should not be assumed that any business under investigation has broken consumer protection law. How the case will progress depends on the evidence – this could include the CMA securing undertakings from the company to address its concerns or taking court action.
8. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) issued a ruling dated 16 March 2022 against Emma Matratzen GmbH, a subsidiary of Emma Sleep GmbH, in which the ASA upheld (Complaint Ref: G22-1141037 Emma Matratzen GmbH) complaints relating to the use of misleading reference pricing and a misleading flash sale countdown clock. The ASA found there had been a breach of The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing.
9. Find out more on the CMA’s consumer campaign on misleading online practices.
10. For media enquiries, contact the CMA press office on 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk.

Published 7 July 2023