News

Commission cracks down on sales practices that mislead online shoppers

The Commerce Commission has issued a formal warning to online gift-box retailer, Occasion Box, for making false and unsubstantiated claims that were likely to mislead online shoppers on its website between May and December 2021.

Occasion Box used “sales pops” (pop-up boxes), purchased from a third-party e-commerce provider, which generated pop-up notifications of fake purchases by fictional consumers supposedly from various locations around Aotearoa New Zealand. The notifications included links to products sold on the website and wording to say that it was a “verified purchase”. 

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