The European Court of Justice has found Aldi Süd, a supermarket chain operating in southern Germany, guilty of violating EU consumer law.  

The retailer was accused of offering fake discounts on grocery items such as bananas and pineapples. 

The court found that Aldi Süd inflated the prices of these items before offering purported "shock price" reductions in its promotional materials.  

This misleads consumers and contravenes EU fair pricing regulations. 

EU Court of Justice ruled: “Traders are [...] prevented from misleading the consumer by increasing the price charged before announcing a price reduction and thus displaying false price reductions.” 

According to the court, price reductions in the form of a percentage should be based on the lowest price applied by the trader not less than 30 days before the application of the discount. 

The case against Aldi Süd was initiated by a consumer group in Baden-Württemberg, which highlighted the supermarket's false claim of a 23% discount on bananas.

The discounted price was no different from the usual price in the previous month, violating EU rules on price indications and unfair commercial practices.  

Baden-Württemberg head Cornelia Tausch denounced Aldi's tactics as a "trick" to sidestep EU law and praised the judgment for providing clearer rights for consumers. 

In response to the allegation, Aldi Süd argued that the law only required them to display previous prices, not to dictate advertising presentation.  

In August 2024, a report from consumer group Which? named Aldi as the cheapest supermarket chain in the UK in July 2024.