German e-commerce giant Zalando has been accused of false advertising, with
a private-sector competition watchdog filing an injunction against the
online fashion retailer.
The Centre for Protection against Unfair Competition said in a statement
that Zalando had misrepresented how many pieces of certain items of
clothing were still available, creating the impression that customers
needed to act fast to buy them.
It said it filed the suit with a regional court in Berlin. Zalando said in
a statement that it had already reacted after the watchdog raised its
concerns a few months ago, changing the wording on its website.
It said the site was accurate when it said there were only one or two items
available of a particular garment. However, when it said “three items
available”, more than three could be in its warehouse, so it has changed
the wording to be more precise to either “three items available” or “more
than three”.