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Emma Sleep ruling challenges CMA reference pricing approach

Published

24 August 2026

Topic

regulatory

Sectors

E-commerce

Geography

United Kingdom

Source

Read at fieldfisher.com

Verified

Fusion42 · 24 August 2026 · Fusion42 review

The UK High Court ruled against the Competition and Markets Authority's attempt to enforce a fixed 1:2 volume ratio for 'Was/Now' pricing, limiting the regulator's ability to deem pricing misleading solely based on this ratio. However, businesses must still ensure reference prices are realistic and justifiable.

This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of E-commerce.

◆ The Wire takeaway

You must drop reliance on fixed volume ratios to prove your discounts are genuine and focus on documenting realistic pricing assumptions. This ruling opens a debate on pricing claims and will affect how you justify your 'Was/Now' offers to regulators and consumers.

Coverage

1 source · 24 Aug 2026

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Topics

E-commercecmaconsumer-protectionpricing-regulationcourt-rulingreference-pricing