Data is helping governments, researchers, and companies across the world track the spread of the novel coronavirus, monitor cases and outcomes of COVID-19, and devise ways to halt the virus’s spread. As part of these efforts, raw data, software tools, data visualizations, and other efforts are providing the public and policymakers with insights into the
Challenges Shipping on Time Because of COVID-19? What You Should Know about the FTC’s Mail Order Rule
As localities order people to stay at home and non-essential businesses to close, consumers are turning to online options. Although you might welcome the traffic, you might also be facing unexpected challenges like a reduced work force, supply chain disruptions, manufacturing shifts from regular inventory to medical necessities, and other hurdles that can cause shipping
Price Gouging Enforcement Escalates At Federal and State Levels
As a follow-up to our recent posts on price gouging (see here, here, and here), we noted recent signs that federal and state authorities have escalated their enforcement efforts.
- On Monday, the President signed an executive order to prevent hoarding and price gouging of crucial medical supplies. It authorizes criminal prosecution of
Telemarketing During the Pandemic
Over the past few weeks, my colleagues have discussed some of the considerations for marketing around COVID-19, including claim substantiation and price gouging. In the next few posts, we are going to take a deeper dive into a few topics, beginning with telemarketing. Here are some points to keep in mind:
States of Emergency
Retailers Should Keep Price Gouging Laws in Mind
If you’ve been shopping lately, it’s likely that you’ve encountered empty shelves and shortages of items, such as (for inexplicable reasons) toilet paper. This tends to happen whenever a disaster – whether that’s a hurricane or COVID-19 – strikes. In some cases, retailers respond to these shortages by increasing prices. Although there may be legitimate
Coronavirus Advertising-Related Enforcement is Ongoing
This post updates an earlier post relating to marketing around the coronavirus.
We noted a couple news items this week that help add context to the pervasiveness of and risks related to price gouging enforcement. In this story, the New York Times reported on a merchant who was selling hand sanitizer and related protective
Read This Before You Market Around Coronavirus
Until recently, most consumers likely associated anything starting with “Corona” with a sunny beach and a lime wedge.
Not anymore.
The public is rightly concerned about coronavirus and how to avoid catching it. And where the public has questions, marketers will have answers. Here are a couple things to think about before rushing that next