Lidl Face Consequences After Implementing Price Reductions
The Regional Court of Heilbronn is currently handling a case involving discount store Lidl, due to the company's corporate headquarters located within its jurisdiction. The case revolves around allegations that Lidl's advertising campaign claiming "500 products instantly cheaper permanently" is unfair and misleading, primarily due to the limited availability and unclear presentation of conditions.
Retail expert Stephan Ruschen has criticised Lidl's advertising as "unfortunate," finding only about 300 reduced products in a branch, significantly lower than consumers might assume from the advertising message. According to price comparison app Smhaggle, the average savings per purchase is only around two percent, as discounted products only make up part of the range.
This controversy appears linked to Lidl's broader price offensive started in May 2025, in which the company claimed over 500 items were permanently cheaper. This campaign intensified competition, particularly in Germany, where Lidl publicly mocked rivals in commercials emphasising their price cuts. However, the specific details of the controversy mostly arise from disputes in France rather than Germany or the UK.
In France, a French appeals court ruled that Lidl must pay €43 million ($50 million) to rival Intermarché after finding that Lidl failed to ensure the advertised permanent price reductions applied consistently across all stores for the required period. The court criticised Lidl for displaying the lower prices prominently in ads, but relegating crucial disclaimers—such as which stores and timeframes the prices applied to—to small print or voice-overs that were unlikely to be noticed by consumers.
The Consumer Advocacy Center Hamburg has filed a lawsuit against Lidl, alleging that the advertising for the offer is unfair and misleading. The complaint seeks an injunction to prevent Lidl from advertising with the slogan "500 products instantly cheaper permanently." According to an evaluation of over 640,000 cash register receipts, customers save hardly anything through the discount action, with many products at Lidl having only become a few cents cheaper. In nearly two-thirds of the reduced products, the price reduction was between 0 and 10 percent.
Individual items were reduced by up to 35 percent, but Lidl did not specify which products would be cheaper. Armin Valet, a food expert from Consumer Advocacy Center Hamburg, criticised the lack of transparency in the advertising. After Lidl's announcement, the other major retail chains followed suit and adjusted their prices.
Lidl declined to comment on the matter, stating that it was not aware of the lawsuit. However, it should be noted that Lidl has taken steps such as removing misleading website content related to other controversies after parliamentary questioning, suggesting responsiveness to reputational risks but separate from the pricing claims case.
In summary, the main documented controversy is a French legal ruling that Lidl's advertising for permanently cheaper prices on over 500 products was unfair and misleading due to insufficient transparency about availability and conditions, leading to a substantial financial penalty. Lidl’s claim to "instantly cheaper permanently" products, while part of an aggressive pricing strategy, has come under legal scrutiny over how it is communicated to consumers.
Financial expert Armin Valet from the Consumer Advocacy Center Hamburg has criticized Lidl's advertising, calling it unfair and misleading due to the lack of transparency about the products and conditions in their claim of 500 permanently cheaper items. The retail industry, in particular Lidl, is drawing criticism for a business practice that questions the truthfulness of their advertising in the finance sector.
