Discount price tags at Migros. The regular price is barely legible.Image: KEYSTONE
Swiss retailers are facing scrutiny over promotional pricing practices, with the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) stepping in to demand adjustments. The issue centers on confusing price displays where conditions for discounts are difficult to decipher, often requiring the purchase of multiple items while the individual price is minimized or obscured.
The promotional price is displayed larger than the regular price. Even though, the fine print indicates that two items must be purchased to receive the discount.Image: RTS
Several consumers contacted French-speaking Swiss radio and television (RTS) to express their frustration with the unclear pricing. Customers reported difficulty distinguishing between promotional and regular prices, particularly when discounts are contingent on bulk purchases.
Coop, for example, utilizes yellow price tags for promotions, prominently displaying the discounted price while listing the regular price in smaller font. The quantity required to qualify for the promotional price is often printed in an even smaller typeface. Migros employs a similar tactic, with the discounted price in the largest font, the regular price in small print and often crossed out, and the required purchase quantity similarly minimized.
Seco to Intervene on Pricing Practices
Migros defended its practices, stating, “Migros designs price labels so that promotions are clearly highlighted to show customers savings opportunities. Migros complies with the Federal Price Indication Ordinance (PBV).” The PBV requires prices to be displayed legibly. Seco, which oversees compliance with the PBV, has deemed Coop’s practices borderline acceptable, but found Migros to be in violation of the rules.
The discount price tag at Migros: The regular price is small and crossed out below the promotional price.Image: RTS
Seco will be intervening with Migros, requiring the retailer to adjust its price displays. This action comes as Coop recently surpassed Migros as the leading food retailer in Switzerland, holding a 43% market share as of November 3, 2025, according to Swissinfo. The move by Seco underscores increasing consumer sensitivity to pricing transparency and the regulatory focus on fair market practices.
(vro)
