Fair trading is essential for building trust and staying compliant in the fast-paced world of convenience retail. From clearly displaying VAT-inclusive prices to being transparent about promotions and discounts, convenience stores must follow strict rules to avoid misleading customers. Whether it’s ensuring price labels are accurate or making sure advertising doesn’t overpromise, retailers have a legal duty to trade fairly.
To support retailers, the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) provides detailed Fair Trading guidance, to help store owners stay on the right side of the law, offering clarity on pricing, advertising, and business transparency.
The advice from ACS, helps convenience stores to not only protect themselves from legal pitfalls but also build stronger, more trustworthy relationships with their customers.
Pricing
Surge Pricing
- Customers must pay at the till the price they have seen on the shelf.
Unit Pricing
- Shops with a floor area or display under 280m2, are NOT required to provide additional ‘unit pricing’ information. Speak to your local trading standards office for additional advice on this issue.
Advertising Price Reductions
- Where you advertise ‘30% off’ or similar, it must be clear to the customer what goods are included in this offer.
Reduced Price Display
- Where you are reducing the price of goods by a percentage (e.g. 50% off), you must show the previous price that the goods were on display for as well as the new lower prices.
Clear Price Display
- Where goods are offered for sale they must have their price clearly indicated, and be inclusive of VAT. Prices can be shown on goods themselves on a ticket or notice near to the goods.
Refunds Police Notice
- If you do display a refunds policy notice the following statements are NOT permitted to be used: no refunds given, goods can only be exchanged, only credit notes will be given against faulty goods, sold as seen. An ACS approved refunds notice is available at http://www.acs.org.uk/advice/fair-trading/ for members only.
Business details and certificates
Business Details (paperwork)
- The trading name and FULL address of your business must be displayed on all of your official paperwork and on your website if you have one. If you are a sole trader(s) or a partnership, you must display the details of the legal owners of your shop(s).
Business Details Display
- The trading name and address of your business must be prominently displayed on a notice in your shop, as required by the Companies Act 2006.
Certificates of Approval
- It is illegal to display any form of trust mark, quality certificate or similar if you are not authorised to do so. You cannot use an approval or endorsement logo without permission.
Payments
Payment Methods
- Some traders may wish to accept different payment methods for different products, or only accept payment cards above a certain value. This should be made clear to customers, such as placing a clear notice at the entrance to the shop and at the payment point. The use of credit cards for gambling is banned, however they can still be used for the purchase of lottery tickets and scratchcards in-person.
Cashback
- Shops may put a minimum charge in place for the use of cashback or may only offer this service with a minimum spend, for example £5 or £10. Notices should be displayed to ensure the requirements are clear to customers. Shops cannot charge customers a surcharge for using a credit or debit card to pay for goods.
Refunds Policy
- A consumer may be entitled to a refund or replacement where goods are faulty or not as described. You should not display a refunds policy notice unless you intend to give the consumer more rights than they have under the law (for example, the right to a refund if they change their mind).
For further information, refer to the ACS Fair Trading Advice Guide.
