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16.01.2024

Advertisement Board Announced Key Findings on Loyalty Programs

The Ministry of Trade has issued a public announcement regarding the meeting of the Advertisement Board, dated 09.01.2024, and numbered 341. During the meeting, the Board reviewed a total of 162 files, with 141 found to be in violation of legislation. As a consequence, the Board has decided to impose a total administrative fine of 24,608,587 TL, accompanied by a suspension penalty on the advertisements and commercial practices associated with these files. 

The primary focus of the meeting was on price reduction advertisements. In this context, the Board made a significant decision, resulting in an amendment to the Guideline on Advertisements, which includes Price Information, Discount Sales Advertisements, and Commercial Practices.

It is worth noting that loyalty programs, previously defined as "discount cards, coupons, loyalty programs, or applications allowing the accumulation of points for future purchases that grant consumers long-term price discounts in specified groups of goods or services," are not considered discounted sales in the Guideline. However, the Board highlighted that loyalty programs have evolved into a discount sales practice, covering a majority of products or services offered for sale.

As a key decision, the Board has determined that in advertisements for goods or services offered for sale through loyalty programs, the impression of a discount should not be directly or indirectly created. This includes the use of expressions such as "discount", "savings", "discount/opportunity for XY card/members", "pre-discount price", or visuals like crossed-out prices or downward trend graphs.

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