Online pricing: key points for consumer-facing businesses

Pricing transparency has always been a core requirement of UK consumer law. However, the implementation of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) and the CMA’s and ASA's current enforcement focus on online pricing practices mean that online pricing should be high on your agenda if you are a consumer-facing business.

This note summarises the legal framework and highlights the practical issues businesses should be considering, particularly where dynamic pricing tools, online marketplaces or third party ad tech is used.

Online pricing and the DMCC Act

Most of the DMCC Act came into force in 2025 and significantly strengthens consumer protection laws and their enforcement. The DMCC focusses in particular on online pricing and strengthening protections for consumers who shop online.

The DMCC Act explicitly prohibits a number of practices that commonly arise in online journeys, including:

• Drip pricing: showing a lower headline price and only adding mandatory charges later in the purchase process.
• Pressure selling: tactics that unduly rush consumers into a decision, such as countdown clocks, “selling fast” messages or claims that stock is almost gone.

As part of its consumer protection drive, the Competition and Markets Authority has now published guidance on:

• price transparency in online selling; and
• getting express consent for optional extras.

At the same time, the CMA has launched a number of high profile enforcement investigations, and has written to around 100 businesses across multiple sectors raising concerns about drip pricing and pressure selling tactics, including countdown timers and scarcity messaging.

Invitations to purchase – getting the marketing right

When assessing compliance, businesses need to pay close attention to what are known as 'invitations to purchase'. This concept is broad and encompasses any communication that mentions a price, even if it does not offer an immediate opportunity to buy. For example: online ads; search results; display ads; posters or billboards.

If a price is mentioned, it is likely to be an invitation to purchase.

Clear pricing information must be provided upfront in any invitation to purchase. This applies even where the ad does not link directly to the ordering process (for example on physical posters or billboards).

Where businesses sell via an online marketplace, both the trader and the marketplace can be liable if pricing information is not clear and prominent. You should therefore be confident that any third-party marketplace you do sell via is fully compliant (and seek contractual assurances of the same) to ensure you are not inadvertently liable for their failings.

What price information must be shown?

The price shown must be realistic, meaningful and attainable for the product being advertised.

In practice, this means:

• the price must be displayed clearly and prominently, and in a way consumers are likely to see; and
• it must include all fees, taxes and charges that the consumer will necessarily incur if they proceed.

Common risk areas

• Product mismatch: the price must relate to the product as advertised. If the advertised product includes particular features, those features must be reflected in the price shown.

If a feature is an optional extra, or only available at a higher price point, this must be clearly stated in the invitation to purchase.

• 'From' and indicative pricing: these can be used, but only with care:
  • there must be a significant proportion of products available at the 'from' price; and
  • the price must be realistically attainable in practice.

Mandatory charges

Charges that are unavoidable if the consumer purchases the product must be included in the headline price. This includes: booking fees; mandatory cleaning fees; and compulsory service charges.

These charges cannot be added at a later stage of the purchase journey.

Optional extras

In contrast, optional extras (for example, breakfast with a hotel stay, or faster delivery) do not need to be included in the headline price as long as they are genuinely optional.

Where an extra charge is optional and not an essential part of the purchase, traders must obtain express consumer consent before they are purchased.

This means: no pre ticked boxes; no automatic opt ins; and no bundling of optional extras into the default price.

To obtain valid consent to these additional charges, businesses must:

• clearly explain the additional payment;
• ensure the consumer actively agrees to it; and
• give consumers a clear opportunity to check and confirm what they are paying for.

Space constrained advertising

Where there are genuine limitations on space or time (for example, small display ads), traders are allowed to leave out some information, such as the trader’s registered address or contact details.

However, pricing information should always be prioritised. Failure to include pricing information in favour of marketing copy or promotional claims is not permitted.

ASA scrutiny – availability claims under the CAP Code

Misleading pricing is not just a CMA issue. It can also breach the CAP Code, enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The ASA has recently focused on availability claims, particularly in the hotel sector.

Recent rulings

In late 2025, the ASA upheld complaints against Hilton, Travelodge, Accor and Booking.com in relation to 'from' price claims.

A consistent theme in these rulings was that consumers would understand claims such as 'From [£28] a night' to mean that a significant proportion of rooms were available at that price, across a meaningful time period. The fact that most advertisers could not provide sufficient evidence to support these implications rendered most of the adverts reviewed misleading, and the businesses were ordered to remove them.

Responsibility for third party feeds

It was clear that most of the hotel chains assessed were using Google Travel Feeds, which utilised pricing and availability data that was provided by the specific hotel chain to display hotel prices with paid-for search ads. For such ads, the lowest available hotel rate was selected and integrated into the search results.

The hotel chains argued that they could not choose the price shown or the format in which it was displayed. This argument was rejected by the ASA; the Travel Feed was an optional feature in Search Ads, and it did not absolve traders of responsibility for the adverts.

Obviously there is a tension here between the technology and regulation. Dynamic pricing can be a helpful way for businesses to manage and respond to peaks and troughs in demand; and these advertising feeds can be an effective and low-cost way to reach a wide audience. However, a product's lowest price cannot be used to mislead consumers into thinking these prices are more widely available than they actually are. Marketing teams and product teams need to be joined up in making pricing and advertising decisions that work together and do not mislead. This may require making a wider number of products or services available at the lower price, or only using advertising feeds that can provide sufficient information to consumers to ensure they meet the pricing transparency requirements.

What about subscription contracts?

The new DMCC subscription regime is now expected to come into force later than originally planned. The rules were initially expected to apply in Spring 2026. Government communications indicate a likely delay until Autumn 2026, although no formal commencement date has yet been confirmed.

In headline terms, the new subscription rules will require businesses to provide clearer pre-contract information, reminders before a subscription renews and easier ways for consumers to exit these contracts.

While we are still waiting for the final details on implementation and CMA guidance on how to comply with the new regime, businesses that rely on subscription contracts should already be looking ahead and anticipating how these changes might alter their subscription management procedures.

This publication is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.

© Farrer & Co LLP, February 2026