Black Friday in Czechia: how to spot fake discounts online

During the November Black Friday weeks, Czech online shops often pressure customers with countdown timers and “black price tags”, and some of the discounts turn out to be illusory. The consumer organization dTest has drawn attention to the problem. Meanwhile, on 1 January 2027, an amendment to the Civil Code will take effect in Czechia: you will be able to withdraw from an online purchase by pressing a dedicated button.

Tricks sellers use

According to dTest director Eduarda Hekšová, shoppers come across countdowns to the end of a sale, as well as messages about how many people are looking at a product right now or have already bought it. Even if this information is true, it is still pressure that noticeably influences the decision to buy.

At dubious and outright fraudulent shops, such timers often run on a random number generator: the countdown simply restarts when the page is refreshed. Experts advise not to panic and not to rush into a purchase.

Why Czechs are keen on discounts

According to Revolut, Czechs spent more than CZK 537 million during last year’s Black Friday week. A survey by the retailer Alza.cz shows that almost nine in ten respondents are considering or planning purchases in this year’s sale. At the same time, 77% have not chosen a specific product in advance and want to be inspired by the sellers’ offers.

The size of the discount as the main selection criterion rose by four percentage points to 63%, while the share of those waiting for a particular product fell from 32% to 22%, said Alza spokeswoman Eliška Čeržovská. Two-thirds of respondents plan to spend at least CZK 5,000, and 39% more than CZK 10,000.

Chasing the biggest discount can backfire. By law, a shop must show the lowest price of the past 30 days alongside the discount, but some sellers may raise the price before that period begins so that they can later legally advertise a more impressive discount. dTest’s best advice is to track the price of the item you like in advance or to use a reliable price comparison tool.

Returns will become easier

When a buyer has already given in to the pressure and made a bad deal, an unpleasant returns process usually follows. That will change on 1 January 2027: according to Ondřej Zelenka, chairman of the Consumer Protection Association, anyone who has concluded a contract online and has the right to withdraw from it will be able to do so through a prominent, clearly labeled button. This year’s Black Friday will not yet be affected by the change.

Currently, exercising the statutory 14-day right of withdrawal can be difficult: you have to find a form, write a letter, study the terms and conditions, and prove that your notice was sent on time.

The button must be clearly visible and available for as long as the right of withdrawal applies. It will not be a single click: after pressing the first button (for example, “Withdraw from contract”), the customer confirms the details identifying the order and then completes the action with a second confirmation. After that, the online shop must promptly confirm receipt of the withdrawal in text form, with the exact date and time it was sent. This will provide reliable proof and put an end to disputes over whether the notice reached the seller.

What the button cannot do

Consumers do not gain a new right to withdraw from a contract, and the novelty does not apply to complaints about defective goods. As Jakub Žirovský of the law firm Rowan Legal explained, it merely adds a new way of exercising an existing right. The obligation applies to businesses that conclude consumer contracts online: not only ordinary online shops, but also providers of services and digital content, including streaming services, online courses and some financial products.

Zelenka warns that the button will not be a universal tool for cancelling anything at all. If the law gives no right of withdrawal (for example, the goods were made to order or the hygiene seal has been broken), the buyer is out of luck. The button will also not allow you to end a long-term subscription at any time or terminate a contract outside the usual deadlines.

Czechia is introducing rules based on an EU directive with a considerable delay: the original deadline expired in June of this year, prompting the European Commission to open proceedings against the country for failing to notify full transposition of the directive. For shops, this means technical changes and certain costs. Anyone who tries to circumvent the requirement and hide the button behind several screens of persuasion risks a fine of up to CZK 5 million from the Czech Trade Inspection Authority. The same fine applies if a business fails to confirm to the consumer that it has received the withdrawal notice.

Around Prague, based on reporting by denik.cz