United Kingdom: Announced investigation into Wowcher over alleged unfair commercial practices

On 31 March 2023, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened an investigation into Wowcher, an e-commerce platform, over alleged unfair commercial practices. In particular, the CMA aims to determine whether the company has misled consumers by using urgency claims, such as countdown timers, which could place unfair pressure on customers to complete purchases. The investigation is part of the CMA's Online Choice Architecture (OCA) programme aimed at addressing harmful online selling practices. Furthermore, the CMA stated it would examine Wowcher's online selling practices, including its membership scheme enrolment process.