Black Friday, the annual shopping event that falls the day after American Thanksgiving, will take place on 27 November this year. According to RMF24 – Ekonomia, the single-day phenomenon has evolved into a weeks-long festival of sales, with many retailers launching promotions as early as late October and extending them into the first week of December.
The event will be followed by Cyber Monday on 30 November, a day dedicated to online deals, as well as smaller initiatives such as Small Business Saturday, which encourages support for local businesses, and Travel Tuesday, focused on travel-related offers.
Watch out for fake discounts and dark patterns
Poland’s consumer protection authority, UOKiK (the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection), has issued guidance on how to avoid falling victim to marketing tricks during the sales rush. The agency emphasises that shoppers should track prices of desired products several weeks in advance to identify genuine bargains.
Under the Omnibus directive, when a shop advertises a discount or promotion, it must display the lowest price of that item from the previous 30 days before the reduction was introduced. This reference price should be shown wherever the discount is advertised – on labels, in online shops or in mobile apps. Any claimed discount should be calculated from this baseline figure.
Consumers should be wary of so-called “dark patterns” – design features on websites and apps intended to rush purchasing decisions. Warning signs include countdown timers that restart when the page is refreshed, automatically added insurance or pre-ticked boxes for extra services, and unverifiable claims about “last items in stock”. Shoppers are advised to check their basket contents and total price carefully before payment.
Check the seller’s location and payment terms
Special caution is needed with stores that appear Polish but actually operate from abroad. A Polish-language website, familiar branding or social media advertising does not guarantee you are buying from a Polish business. Before making a purchase, verify the company’s details, registered address, terms and conditions, return policies and the location from which goods will be dispatched.
If the seller is based outside the European Union, enforcing your rights may prove more difficult, and customs duties or additional taxes may be added to the price. Shoppers should also scrutinise “buy now, pay later” offers, which may constitute a form of credit or loan. Check the repayment deadline, any interest charges, late payment fees and the consequences of non-payment. A headline of “£0 upfront” does not mean the purchase is cost-free.
For online purchases, consumers generally have 14 days to withdraw from the contract, though exceptions apply to products made to individual specifications and certain digital content. It is advisable to save order confirmations, shop terms, price information and all correspondence with the seller, as well as screenshots of the offer. These documents can be crucial if conditions change after purchase or if problems arise with delivery, returns or complaints.
What this means for Poles in the UK
Polish shoppers in Britain are protected by similar consumer rights laws to those enforced in Poland under the Omnibus directive, which is EU-wide legislation also adopted in the UK. When shopping online during Black Friday, check that UK retailers display the previous lowest price from the last 30 days alongside any discount – this is a legal requirement.
If you are buying from Polish websites while living in the UK, be aware that returns may involve international postage costs and longer processing times. Check the seller’s location carefully: if based outside the UK or EU, you may face customs charges on arrival and have limited recourse if things go wrong. Your statutory 14-day cooling-off period for distance sales applies to purchases from UK and EU sellers, but not necessarily from retailers in third countries.
Avoid impulse purchases driven by countdown timers and false urgency. Take time to compare prices using price-tracking websites, and always review your basket before payment to ensure no extras have been added automatically. If using “buy now, pay later” services such as Klarna or Clearpay, remember these are forms of credit and missed payments can affect your credit score. For complaints or disputes with UK traders, contact Citizens Advice; for cross-border EU purchases, use the European Consumer Centre UK.