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Can I offer discounts or promotions without violating pricing laws in Illinois? What are the requirements?

Requirements for Offering Discounts or Promotions in Illinois

To offer discounts or promotions in Illinois, retail mercantile establishments must comply with the requirements of Section 3.5 of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act [1.1]. According to this section, if a discount is offered for an item, the retail mercantile establishment must provide the original price and the discounted price, the original price and a credit or reduction of the advertised savings, the amount saved or the amount reduced as a percentage, or any other format for showing the advertised savings of the discount to the consumer. The retail mercantile establishment may use any reasonable method available to provide notice of the advertised savings of the discount, including, but not limited to, the following commercial channels: by screen or other display at the point of sale, by paper or electronic receipt, by email, text message, mobile or computer application, or any other electronic or digital communication, by in-store consumer promotions, advertisement, or any other similar display, by membership, loyalty, or reward program or any other similar program, or by any other reasonable means available to the retail mercantile establishment.

Retail mercantile establishments may request information from the consumer that will facilitate the required notice of the discount to the consumer. A retail mercantile establishment subject to this Section that accepts information provided by the consumer shall be deemed in compliance with any law regulating the collection of personal or biometric information. If a consumer refuses to provide information to the retail mercantile establishment in order for the retail mercantile establishment to comply with this Section, the retail mercantile establishment shall not be liable under this Section [1.1].

The final purchase price that includes discounted items offered by a retail mercantile establishment must be excluded from the amount upon which any fee is charged the retail mercantile establishment by any person when a consumer uses a card, note, plate, coupon book, credit, or any other similar device to purchase the discounted item or items [1.1].

Exemptions to the Illinois Business Opportunity Sales Law

The Illinois Business Opportunity Sales Law regulates the sale of business opportunities in Illinois [2.1][2.2]. However, it does not apply to the sale of an ongoing business operated by the seller and to be sold in its entirety, the sale of a business opportunity to an ongoing business where the seller will provide products, equipment, supplies or services which are substantially similar to the products, equipment, supplies or services sold by the purchaser in connection with the purchaser’s ongoing business, or the sale of a business opportunity which is a franchise as defined by the Franchise Disclosure Act of 1987 [2.2].

Required Public Notice in Illinois

For purposes of the Illinois Required Public Notice Act, “required public notice” means any notice, advertisement, proclamation, statement, proposal, ordinance or proceedings of an official body or board or any other matter or material that is required by law or by the order or rule of any court to be published in any newspaper [4.1]. The minimum rate shall be 20 cents per column line for each insertion of a required public notice. The maximum rate charged for each insertion of a required public notice shall not exceed the lowest classified rate paid by commercial users for comparable space in the newspapers in which the required public notice appears and shall include all cash discounts, multiple insertion discounts, and similar benefits extended to the newspaper’s regular customers [4.1].

In summary, retail mercantile establishments in Illinois may offer discounts or promotions as long as they comply with the requirements of Section 3.5 of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. The Illinois Business Opportunity Sales Law does not apply to the sale of an ongoing business operated by the seller and to be sold in its entirety, the sale of a business opportunity to an ongoing business where the seller will provide products, equipment, supplies or services which are substantially similar to the products, equipment, supplies or services sold by the purchaser in connection with the purchaser’s ongoing business, or the sale of a business opportunity which is a franchise as defined by the Franchise Disclosure Act of 1987. The Illinois Required Public Notice Act regulates the publication of required public notices in newspapers.

Source(s):
Jurisdiction

Illinois