Summer Sales - A Guide for Businesses: Here's How to Display Prices Legally

As Greece gears up for the summer sales period, set to begin on Monday, July 13, 2026, the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE) has released a comprehensive guide for businesses. The directive aims to ensure full compliance with current legislation, promoting transparency in commercial practices and safeguarding consumer interests.

A key regulation highlighted is derived from Article 9ι of Law 2251/1994, as amended by Law 5111/2024. This law mandates that any announcement of a price reduction must clearly state the previous price, often referred to as the reference price. This reference price is defined as the lowest price the merchant applied to the product within the 30 days preceding the initial discount announcement.

Merchants can communicate discounts through various methods: a percentage reduction (e.g., "20% off"), a specific amount reduction (e.g., "10 euro discount"), or by displaying both the new, lower price alongside the previous, higher price (e.g., "now 50 euros, was 100 euros"). The previous price can also be shown crossed out.

The ESEE guide clarifies that the reference price is the lowest price offered in the 30 days before the sale. If a product has been on the market for less than 30 days, the reference price is the lowest price during its market availability. For products with progressive price reductions within 60 days before the sale, the reference price is the one that was valid before the first successive reduction. However, a crucial point is that no price increase should occur within these 60 days, even on already reduced prices, as this invalidates the pre-sale reference price.

Furthermore, if a business operates multiple stores, physical or online, with different pricing, the reference price must be determined for each individual location. The guide also explicitly prohibits using the manufacturer's suggested retail price as the reference price for discounts.