Since January 1st, 2023 within the EU, an updated version of the 98/6/WE 6a EU directive has come into force. This directive requires that price reductions be clearly and accurately displayed, with the original price and the discounted price both shown. It also states that the period of time during which the discounted price is available should be clearly indicated. By adhering to this directive, merchants can ensure that their customers are fully informed about the prices they’re paying, which can help build trust and encourage repeat business. Under the directive, also known as the Price Indication Directive, EU member states were required to implement the necessary measures to comply with its provisions in their national legislation.
The Price Indication directive states in particular that:
1. Any announcement of a price reduction shall indicate the prior price applied by the trader for a determined period of time prior to the application of the price reduction.
2. The prior price means the lowest price applied by the trader during a period of time not shorter than 30 days prior to the application of the price reduction.
3. Member States may provide for different rules for goods which are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly.
4. Where the product has been on the market for less than 30 days, Member States may also provide for a shorter period of time than the period specified in paragraph 2.
5. Member States may provide that, when the price reduction is progressively increased, the prior price is the price without the price reduction before the first application of the price reduction;
We have seen a greater interest in the topic also for Sylius, which as an eCommerce framework is used by thousands of shops around the world, part of it in the EU of course. Many merchants are storing and managing their product prices in external systems like PIMs, some others have already developed price history mechanisms inside of their Sylius-based shops over the years.
Sylius, as a vendor, is not a subject of the Omnibus directive, but we have been asked multiple times to deliver the required functionalities by the Sylius community and users. This is why we have decided to squeeze the development of an open-source solution into our tight roadmap.
We have designed and delivered a flexible solution for shops using Sylius to comply with the new Omnibus directive. The first stable version of the PriceHistoryPlugin is now available on GitHub! With this plugin, you gain better pricing transparency, improved price management, and the ability to identify and respond to market trends quickly. We wanted to provide a set of features applicable not only to sellers in the EU but also around the world.
The information required by the Omnibus directive will be visible on every currently discounted product. By ‘discounted,’ we mean the current sale price is lower than the original price recorded in the channel price.
You can configure the length of the period for which the lowest price is defined and shown in the Channel configuration, and you can also turn off this feature for selected channels. This is especially useful for shops that sell through channels both in the EU and outside it.
Furthermore, it is also possible to select specific taxons for which the lowest price will not be shown in the product view. This can be useful, for example, for products that are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly, which may be excluded from this directive.
The PriceHistoryPlugin is now available on GitHub. Let us know what you think, because as always – we’d love to hear your feedback!
