A comprehensive guide to the Omnibus Directive for online shops

A comprehensive guide to the Omnibus Directive for online shops

As of 1 January 2023, Polish online shops must comply with new regulations stemming from the Omnibus Directive, which is an EU regulation that imposes a number of obligations on shop owners and e-commerce platforms. The aim of this regulation is to guarantee consumers fair and transparent price information and to protect their rights when shopping online. Adapting your online shop to the Omnibus requirements may seem complicated, so it is worth taking a closer look at its principles, detailed requirements and practical tips to help you successfully implement the required changes.

What is the Omnibus Directive and why was it introduced?

The Omnibus Directive was introduced by the European Union to strengthen consumer rights and eliminate misleading commercial practices. The phenomenon of artificially raising prices before promotions in order to later offer „high” discounts had become so widespread that it required regulation.

The result is the Omnibus Directive, which is designed to:

- Protecting consumers from price manipulation, especially in the context of pseudo promotions.

- Ensure transparency of prices and product information through clear guidelines on the display of historical prices.

- Increase confidence in online shopping by ensuring that prices and product reviews are reliable.

The new directive obliges online shop owners to comply with established rules, such as informing customers of the lowest price of a product in the last 30 days before the discount was introduced and being transparent about customer feedback. Proper implementation of these requirements is not only necessary to avoid penalties, but is also an important part of building trust among consumers and improving a shop's image.

Key requirements of the Omnibus Directive

In order to understand how to adapt your online shop to the new regulations, it is worth looking at the most important requirements that the Omnibus Directive introduces. Here's what you need to know:

Why is this required?  
This requirement is intended to eliminate pseudo-promotions, which involve increasing the price just before the promotion to make the discount look bigger than it actually is. The consumer needs to be able to verify that they are actually getting a favourable offer, so information on the historical lowest price becomes crucial.

How to implement this solution?
For shops based on platforms such as WooCommerce, you can use the available plug-ins, such as „Omnibus - Show lowest product price”, which automatically downloads and displays the lowest price from before a period of 30 days when the product is discounted

Transparency of product reviews

The Omnibus Directive also requires that product reviews are honest and not manipulated. Online shops must ensure that product reviews are genuine, so reviews cannot be published that come from people who have not purchased the product, or that have been purchased (e.g. paid to display them).

How to meet this requirement?
The best solution is to allow only users who have made a purchase to add reviews. In e-commerce systems, it is often possible to assign reviews to a user's account to verify the authenticity of the reviews. These reviews can additionally be marked as „verified”, giving consumers confidence in their integrity.

Shops may also publish unverified reviews, but these must be clearly labelled so that it is clear to the consumer that they are reviews from people who have not been verified.

3 Information on the status of the seller

The directive also requires the consumer to be clear whether the seller is a private person or a trader. This is important because the status of the seller affects the consumer's rights, e.g. regarding complaints or returns. 

How to implement this requirement?  
In the case of platforms where different sellers offer their products, it is necessary to have information on the status of the seller next to each product.

4 Transparency in the division of responsibilities between platform owner and vendors

In order to understand how to adapt your online shop to the new regulations, it is worth looking at the most important requirements that the Omnibus Directive introduces. Here's what you need to know:

Why is this important?

Consumers should be fully clear who is responsible for fulfilling an order and who is responsible for handling returns and complaints. In the case of multi-seller platforms such as the marketplace, this requirement is particularly important so that customers know what their rights are depending on the type of seller.

How do I install the Omnibus plugin for Prestashop?

Compliance with the Omnibus Directive brings numerous benefits to both consumers and the retailers themselves. Here are the key reasons for implementing these changes:

- Increased consumer confidence: Transparent information on prices and reviews increases the shop's credibility, which attracts new customers.

- Meeting EU standards: Compliance with the Omnibus Directive is a must to avoid potential financial penalties.

- Better shopping experience: with clear information, customers can make informed purchasing decisions, which increases their satisfaction and propensity to return to the shop.

How to implement the requirements of the Omnibus Directive?

Below you will find specific guidance on implementing the changes required by the Omnibus Directive in your online shop:

1 Automatically display the lowest price of the last 30 days: Plug-ins such as „Omnibus - Show the lowest product price” are ideal for e-commerce shops. Once installed, the plugin itself retrieves the lowest price of the last 30 days and displays it next to the products under promotion.

2 Verification of customer reviews: Shops can introduce a review system that allows reviews to be added only from the account from which the purchase was made. This ensures that reviews are credible and marked as „verified”.

4. Clear rules and regulations with a division of responsibilities: Trading platforms should have rules and regulations that define the responsibilities of the platform owner and individual sellers, e.g. for order processing and return handling.

Best practices for compliance with the Omnibus Directive

The implementation of the Omnibus Directive can be an opportunity to improve your shop. Here are some recommendations to help you achieve full compliance with the directive:

- Regular price monitoring: Keeping prices up to date is key to being compliant with the requirements of the directive. Regular price checks and the implementation of systems that archive price history can facilitate the compliance process.

- Customer education: Informing customers of their rights under the Omnibus Directive and the advantages of price transparency and reliability of reviews builds trust in the shop.

- Transparent pricing and feedback policy: A clear policy on price information and review rules not only complies with the directive, but also helps to build a positive image for the shop.

How do I implement the key requirements of the omnibus directive?

In order to effectively implement the requirements of the Omnibus Directive in your online shop, it is worth using dedicated tools that automate adaptation to the new regulations. One solution is Omnibus module for PrestaShop available for shops based on the PrestaShop platform. With this plug-in, you can easily adapt your shop to the requirements of the directive, which includes obligations related to price transparency and promotions.

Omnibus module for PrestaShop offers functions that allow, among other things:

• Display of the lowest product price over the last 30 days before promotion, which is a key requirement of Omnibus.
• Automatic price updates in accordance with the requirements of the Directive, thus eliminating the risk of non-compliance.
• Easy management of pricing information in a transparent and regulated manner.

With the PI Omnibus plug-in, implementing the requirements of the directive becomes simple and quick, and your customers gain greater confidence in the fairness of your shop's promotions. Details can be found at pluginisle.pl/moduly-prestashop-sprzed/23-pi-omnibus-modul-prestashop.html

Summary

The implementation of the Omnibus Directive is a step towards ensuring price fairness on the European market and increasing consumer confidence in online shopping. Compliance with its requirements will allow online shop owners not only to avoid potential penalties, but also to build relationships based on transparency and reliability. Consumers become more confident about the promotions offered to them and shops can compete more effectively in the market thanks to increased customer confidence.