From Amazon to Marckeplace to the many small traders who have also opened an online shop in recent years. In Veneto, the rules for sales and promotions could soon change for everyone.
In fact, the Veneto Region is preparing to update the law on trade by extending the rules on extraordinary sales to e-commerce as well. The aim is to eliminate the distinction between physical commerce and online commerce when it comes to extraordinary sales.
If definitively approved, the reform will impose the same obligations on physical stores and online businesses for sales, liquidations and promotions, also introducing new rules on the transparency of discounts. The innovation was introduced by the regional councilor for economic development Massimo Bitonci during the examination of the reform in the Third Commission of the Veneto Regional Council, in which the amendment
What changes for those who sell online
The aspect that is causing the most discussion concerns article 34, dedicated to extraordinary sales. The amendment establishes that the regional regulation will no longer only concern shops, markets and traditional commercial activities, but will also be extended to electronic commerce.
Essentially, those who sell online will have to respect the same rules as those who sell in a physical store when organizing promotional campaigns or sales. The declared objective is to guarantee greater uniformity among all commercial operators, regardless of the channel used.
Which sales are affected
The reform distinguishes three types of extraordinary sales.
The first concerns liquidation sales, carried out for example in the event of cessation of business, relocation or renovation of the store, with a duration generally not exceeding six weeks.
Then there remain the end-of-season sales, i.e. the traditional sales relating to seasonal products, and promotional sales, which can be carried out during the year according to the methods established by law.
The reform also introduces new information obligations to protect consumers. Each operator must clearly indicate:
The objective is to make offers more transparent and avoid potentially misleading communications on the real economic advantage.
What about Amazon or Marketplace?
The Veneto Region cannot impose new rules on the global functioning of platforms that already operate mainly within the scope of national and European legislation on electronic commerce.
However, it could establish that commercial activities governed by regional legislation, including those that carry out online sales, respect the same rules established for extraordinary sales of physical stores.
In other words, the reform does not create special legislation for large international marketplaces, but introduces the principle according to which the sales channel must not determine different rules.
More and more companies are combining physical stores with e-commerce or selling through platforms such as Amazon. At the same time, many operators born exclusively online have opened points of sale in the area. The distinction between traditional and digital trade is therefore increasingly less marked, and the Region aims to update the legislation to adapt it to this scenario.
The final word will now be up to the Veneto Regional Council. If the text is approved, the new rules will make the regulation of extraordinary sales more uniform, extending obligations to online commerce that until now mainly concerned physical stores.
