Zalando accused of false advertising

German e-commerce giant Zalando has been accused of false advertising, with a private-sector competition watchdog filing an injunction against the online fashion retailer.

The Centre for Protection against Unfair Competition said in a statement that Zalando had misrepresented how many pieces of certain items of clothing were still available, creating the impression that customers needed to act fast to buy them.

It said it filed the suit with a regional court in Berlin. Zalando said in a statement that it had already reacted after the watchdog raised its concerns a few months ago, changing the wording on its website.

It said the site was accurate when it said there were only one or two items available of a particular garment. However, when it said “three items available”, more than three could be in its warehouse, so it has changed the wording to be more precise to either "three items available" or "more than three".