ASA raps Matalan over advert

Matalan has been criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority after consumers complained that

its ‘click-and-collect’ TV ads claiming they had “plenty of parking” were “misleading”.

The advert featured a voice-over that stated “Choose click-and-collect to get your order delivered free to your local store, so no need to wait at home all day...Collection is easy. Our stores are open 7 days a week with plenty of parking. Get your style, your size, delivered your way. Matalan. Shopping that suits you." With added on-screen text towards the end of the ad stating “subject to availability”.

The budget fashion and homewares retailer responded by saying that majority of its 217 stores do have dedicated car parks, however, a “small number” were located in shopping centres where customers used shared parking areas.

The ASA ruled that as the ad had highlighted that Matalan stores had “plenty of parking” and it felt that “viewers would be likely to understand the claim to mean that all Matalan stores had their own dedicated large on-site car parks, or at the least that they shared large on-site car parks with other stores if they were situated in a retail park”.

The advertising watchdog accepted that most stores did have parking, however, it concluded that the advert was misleading because parking wasn’t available in “all” stores, which it felt viewers were likely to understand from the ad.

Matalan has been told not to run the advert in its “current form” again.