An online store can display discount percentages, crossed-out prices and campaign colours consistently while still using the wrong reference price. The main problem then lies in the price data behind the interface, rather than the interface itself.

That makes the reference price more than a legal checkpoint. It is also a question of product data, system logic and content design.

The reference price is a historical value

Section 9a of Norway's Price Information Regulations requires a trader advertising a product at a reduced price to state its prior price.

The regulations define this as the lowest price the trader used during at least the 30 days before the promotion began. The definition includes prices offered to the public and larger groups in loyalty programmes or customer clubs. If the discount increases progressively, the reference price is the lowest price before the first reduction.

The 'regular price' field in an online store is therefore not automatically the same as the legally defined reference price.

One system choice can repeat an error many times

A decision by the Norwegian Consumer Authority against FLOYD shows why this is a system problem, rather than simply a question of wording on a campaign banner.

The authority examined 20 randomly selected dresses across sales campaigns in November and December 2024. Its decision states that it found no instance in which the examined dresses were advertised with the correct reference price. It recorded 48 infringements across 18 products.

The authority also quotes the company's explanation that its system automatically used recommended or regular prices as reference prices.

This is an important production point. If the wrong field is used as a data source, the same error can appear on product cards, product pages and campaign material without anyone manually entering an incorrect price.

Reference price and regular price are different labels

The authority's 2025 guidance for the clothing industry also explains what happens when a shop wants to show the regular price alongside the reference price.

It states that the reference price must be clear and customers must understand that the discount is calculated from it. If the regular price is also shown, the guidance recommends placing 'lowest price in the last 30 days' immediately beside the reference price, and 'regular price' beside the regular price. The regular price must not dominate the presentation.

Regulation and information design meet here. Two correct numbers can still be unclear if their labels, size or position make them look like the same kind of price.

Clarify the data model before the campaign layout

A practical online store therefore needs more than one general price field.

A possible setup can distinguish between:

  • current selling price
  • historical pricing data
  • the reference price calculated under the applicable rule
  • any regular price as a separate value
  • campaign start time
  • channel or customer group when pricing data vary
  • documentation of how the reference price was calculated

This is a production model, rather than a reproduction of the legal text. The aim is to make it harder for the design layer to retrieve a value that looks right but means something else.

Check both data and the interface

Quality checks before publishing a sales campaign should therefore have two parts.

First, check the pricing basis. Is the history complete? Which price qualifies as the reference price? Do customer-club prices or other relevant price levels affect the calculation? Is the same value used consistently across channels?

Then check the presentation. Can customers distinguish the reference, regular and campaign prices? Are the labels equally clear on mobile and desktop? Do the product listing and product page show the same prices and labels?

A tidy campaign design cannot compensate for incorrect price data. Correct data are also of little use if the presentation makes the prices difficult to distinguish.

Sales work should begin with the pricing data

The authority's FLOYD case concerns one business and cannot establish how common this error is in Norwegian online stores. It does, however, show very specifically how an error in system logic can repeat across products and campaigns.

For e-commerce teams, the consequence is practical: prices, content and design cannot be checked separately.

Before the next sale, start with the pricing basis and fields feeding the interface. Campaign graphics come afterwards.