End-of-season sales are some of the most eagerly awaited moments of the year: both for customers, who are looking for bargains, and for retailers, who can increase revenue and clear out remaining stock. However, end-of-season sales are not simply a free-market strategy: in Italy, a specific legislative framework regulates seasonal sales for retailers and online stores. Understanding the legislation governing sales is important to avoid penalties and ensure customer transparency.

This article will analyze the legislation governing sales discounts in Italy, the main laws, and the differences between seasonal sales and promotional offers. We’ll see how regional regulations affect the start and end dates of winter and summer sales, when online seasonal sales begin, and what obligations retailers have. We’ll also take a look at how to offer discounts correctly, how to display prices in store windows, and what penalties could apply in the event of a breach of sales discount laws.

What’s in this article?

• Legislation governing sales discounts in Italy
  
• Overview of the types of sales discounts
  
• When seasonal sales start and end: Differences across regions
  
• How to offer sales discounts
  
• How to display discounts
  
• Penalties for violating sales regulations
  
• How Stripe Checkout can help
  

Legislation governing sales discounts in Italy

The Italian regulation governing sales discounts stems from the need to balance freedom of enterprise with consumer protection, with a view to preventing unfair commercial practices. Below are the main legislative sources on this subject.

Law 114/1998

Law 114/1998 (known as the Bersani Law) introduced the modern concept of liberalizing commercial activities, also laying down rules on special sales, such as clearance events, end-of-season sales, and promotional offers. This law says that end-of-season sales can only be held at certain times of the year, leaving it up to individual regions to regulate how such sales are conducted, advertising (including for the purposes of providing consumers with accurate information), as well as the periods and duration of such sales.

Legislative Decree No. 26 of March 7, 2023

This decree implements Directive (EU) 2019/2161, known as the Omnibus Directive, which introduced new rules on sales discounts and greater customer transparency. One of the most significant changes is the obligation for retailers to indicate the lowest price charged in the last 30 days when advertising a discount. This point is key both for those who manage online sales and for those who set up the store for the sales.

Regional regulations

In Italy, the regions are responsible for setting the start and end dates of seasonal sales. This means that the period when winter or summer sales begin varies from region to region, although in recent years there’s been an attempt to standardize this at the national level.

Overview of the types of sales discounts

Not all discount events are seasonal sales. Below, we look at the differences between the various types of discounts:

• End-of-season sales: These are the most eagerly awaited by customers and coincide with the official periods established by sales discount regulations, i.e., the winter sales period and the summer sales period. These sales events have a limited duration and are regulated by specific regional legislation. They can help you clear your warehouse and increase revenue in just a few weeks.

• Promotional offers: These are discounts that can be applied at any time of year, giving retailers greater freedom. The only restriction imposed by the legislation governing sales discounts is that promotional offers cannot be active in the 30 days preceding end-of-season sales. Promotional offers are often used to launch new products or attract customers during low season.

• Black Friday and Cyber Monday: These events are not part of the end-of-season sales category, but they are now well-established commercial events in Italy. These are global promotional campaigns that offer significant discounts for a very short period, usually one or two days. For many ecommerce businesses, these events generate traffic spikes comparable to official seasonal sales.

• Discounts below cost: These are regulated by Italian Presidential Decree No. 218 of April 6, 2001 (regulation governing below-cost sales) implementing the provisions of Article 15 of Italian Legislative Decree No. 114/1998. Discounts below cost can be applied only under certain conditions, for instance to dispose of surplus stock or obsolete products. These discounts often require prior notice to the municipality and are subject to certain restrictions; for instance, they can be carried out only 3 times during the year, and each below-cost discount period can last no longer than 10 days. Discounts below cost are a powerful but risky lever, because they directly affect profit margins.

Types of sales discounts

What is the difference between seasonal sales and promotional offers?

The main difference between these types of discounts is the regulatory framework:

• End-of-season sales (winter and summer sales) have a schedule set by the regions and follow specific rules: duration, price communication, and advertising methods.

• Promotional offers, on the other hand, are unrestricted, except that they cannot take place in the 30 days preceding an end-of-season sales period.

Here is a practical example: if a clothing store in Milan decides to offer discounts in November, it can market them as promotional offers. However, in December, in the 30 days prior to the start of the winter sales period, it can no longer do so. From January onwards, however, it can conduct end-of-season sales in accordance with the rules governing seasonal sales.

Are end-of-season sales mandatory for stores?

No, end-of-season sales are not mandatory by law. As a retailer, you are free to decide whether or not to participate in them. However, if you choose to participate, you must comply with national legislation and regional regulations: clearly indicate prices, comply with the established dates, and follow the rules for announcing discounts. Most physical stores (i.e., brick-and-mortar stores) and ecommerce sites participate in end-of-season sales, as they’re an important marketing tool and an opportunity to attract new customers.

Who decides the dates of end-of-season sales?

The dates of end-of-season sales in Italy are decided at the regional level; specifically, Italian Legislative Decree No. 114/1998 (Bersani Law), Article 15, paragraph 3, empowers the regions to set the start and end dates of end-of-season sales. The regions issue laws or resolutions that establish these dates locally, in accordance with the general guidelines and the expected average duration.

When seasonal sales start and end: Differences across regions

In Italy, the end-of-season sales dates are set at the regional level and apply to brick-and-mortar stores and ecommerce alike. If you have an ecommerce business, online sales must follow the same rules and dates laid down by the regions, without exception: this means that digital sales must comply with the calendar of the region in which your business is legally based. It is therefore not possible to start online sales before brick-and-mortar sales.

As for the calendar, Italian regions announce the dates of the end-of-season sales each year, usually after the end of the previous season. For example, the dates for the 2025 winter sales were announced in December 2024, while those for the 2025 summer sales were confirmed in July 2025. In line with this schedule, the exact dates for the 2026 seasonal sales will not be known until the end of 2025 and the first few months of 2026, when the individual regions will publish their calendars.

In the meantime, the general rules governing seasonal sales each year remain valid:

• Winter sales almost always begin on the first working day before January 6 (often a Thursday or Friday in early January) and last, on average, 6 to 8 weeks. There might be local exceptions, such as in the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta or the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano.

• Summer sales usually start on the first Saturday in July and last for an average of 60 days, with some local exceptions. In this case, too, the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano have the freedom to schedule different periods than the rest of Italy.

When do Black Friday sales start?

According to the tradition imported from the US, Black Friday begins on the fourth Friday in November: in 2025, this will be November 28. However, Black Friday does not have a start date established by Italian law: it is not a regulated period like winter or summer sales.

How to offer sales discounts

To offer sales discounts correctly, you must follow certain rules established for retailers, which apply to both brick-and-mortar stores and ecommerce.

• Notify the municipality of the start of the sales period (mandatory in some regions): This is to ensure traceability and customer fairness. In some territories, however, no formal notification is required, only compliance with the scheduled seasonal sales dates.

• Display prices clearly: The legislation governing sales discounts requires that the original price, the discount percentage, and the new reduced price always be indicated. As of 2023, with the entry into force of the Omnibus Directive, the reference price must be the lowest price charged in the 30 days prior to the discount.

• Note the limited duration: Sales must comply with the official dates established by regional sales regulations, without the possibility of arbitrary extensions by individual stores.

• Comply with the ban on promotional offers in the 30 days prior to a seasonal sale: This rule is designed to prevent customers from being confused by early discounts ahead of end-of-season sales.

The same rules apply to ecommerce: online sales periods must coincide with those scheduled by the relevant region and must clearly display prices and discount percentages. It’s good practice to include dedicated banners, clear landing pages, and search filters to enhance the customer’s shopping experience. We also recommend offering customers their preferred payment method. In a 2022 Stripe survey, 86% of European consumers said they would likely abandon their cart if their preferred payment method was not available.

How to display discounts

The legislation governing sales requires transparency in the way discounts are displayed. The main rules are:

• Price tag: Each product must show the original price crossed out, the discount percentage, and the final price.

• Reference price: From 2023, thanks to the implementation of the Omnibus Directive, the reference price must be the lowest applied in the previous 30 days.

• Advertising communication: It is prohibited to use misleading statements such as “70% off everything” if this discount does not apply to all goods.

In addition, brick-and-mortar businesses should know how to set up a sales window display, which is an integral marketing strategy: create clear displays, show legible prices, and use consistent messages that reinforce customer confidence. The same rules apply online for sales banners and landing pages.

Penalties for violating sales regulations

In the event of failure to comply with the rules for sales discounts, you could incur administrative fines in accordance with the provisions of Article 22 of Law 114/1998 (Bersani Law). Breaches can result in fines ranging from approximately €516 to €3,098, with reductions for immediate payment that can limit the penalty to around €1,032.

The irregularities that most commonly result in penalties include:

• Displaying sale items without tags showing the full price, the discount percentage, and the final price

• Conducting seasonal sales outside the legal period set out by the region

• Not separating discounted products from full-price products

• Providing customers with unclear information or using misleading advertising.

Regions can establish different penalty bands within the limits indicated, but the range remains essentially unchanged.

Moreover, the Omnibus Directive, implemented in Italian Legislative Decree No. 26/2023, introduced Article 17-bis of the Consumer Code, which imposes additional transparency requirements (such as indicating the previous price). Violation of this provision also entails the application of administrative fines ranging from €516 to €3,098; in the case of significant unfair commercial practices, the provisions against unfair commercial practices could also be applied.

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