The National Consumer Commission of South Africa has put small retailers, including spaza shops, on notice to comply with the country's consumer protection laws. A two-year probe found widespread abuses, including lack of transparency on prices for goods sold. The commission has tightened its guidelines for suppliers, importers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and service providers regarding compliance with product description, labelling, sales record, and price disclosure requirements.
The guidelines will affect not only small retail businesses but also e-commerce players. The commission identified widespread noncompliance with the Consumer Protection Act, particularly among spaza shops and other small retail businesses operating in the R900bn township economy. The inspections revealed that most suppliers failed to disclose prices of goods offered for sale, issue sales records to consumers, or provide product descriptions.
The new guidelines seek to provide clarity regarding the obligations imposed on suppliers in relation to product descriptions, labelling of goods, issuance of sales records, and disclosure of prices to consumers. Goods offered for sale must contain a truthful and adequate product description, including country of origin. Suppliers may not misrepresent used or refurbished goods as new or falsely claim compliance, approval, or certification of goods they are selling.
The guidelines also focus on pricing, requiring suppliers to clearly display the selling price of goods or services offered to consumers. Suppliers may not charge a consumer a price higher than the displayed price, a practice that has become common in the sale of fast-moving consumer goods and airtime market in townships. Additionally, merchants must disclose all additional charges, including service charges and administration fees, before consumers finalise payments.
Noncompliance with the guidelines may result in administrative fines, product recalls, and referrals for prosecution. However, policing the vast informal sector will be challenging for the commission, with over 200,000 spaza shops and mainly unregistered entities in the country. The commission has been increasingly focused on protecting consumers from unscrupulous practices.
One of the major moves the commission made this year is clamping down on spam calls that have become a nuisance to consumers. Under the new laws, direct marketers are expected to register and cleanse their lists against the opt-out registry system before contacting consumers for direct marketing purposes. The opt-out activities are expected to have high traffic volumes, as the majority of the population who own a mobile device is targeted.
Data from Truecaller shows that about 17-billion spam calls were made to consumers by telemarketers in the first six months of 2026 alone. Direct marketers who fail to register will be prohibited from contacting consumers for direct marketing purposes and face penalties if they do. The commission will administer the opt-out registry, which provides mechanisms for registering by consumers and direct marketers.
Key points
- The National Consumer Commission has tightened guidelines for small retailers and e-commerce players to comply with consumer protection laws.
- The guidelines focus on product description, labelling, sales record, and price disclosure requirements.
- Noncompliance with the guidelines may result in administrative fines, product recalls, and referrals for prosecution.
