Three major retailers from Quebec mislead their customers with online sales that are dragged for months, which possibly contravenes the competition law and deprives consumers of transparent information on prices.
“It is deliberate”, denounces in interview Mathieu Guffens, founder of the MOSC surveillance application. The 37 -year -old Belgian has just added Decathlon, Best Buy and Simons La Main in the bag in Quebec.
Its algorithm already monitors 1,500 retailers in France and Belgium. At the end of May, after observing similar practices in Europe, he added six retailers on this side of the Atlantic: Best Buy, Decathlon, Simons, Walmart, Sports Experts and Amazon.
Since then, Quebecers can follow the evolution of the price of certain articles on MOSC and note that so -called temporary discounts are permanent, such as a scooter “on promotion” since June, shoes “SOLED” since May or a dress “in discounts” for months.
Three examples of eternal discounts in Quebec
80 days
Chez Simonsthe belted woman dress mixture of linen has been $ 99.95 since May 25, with a reference price crossed by $ 150.
screenshots provided by MOSC
73 days
Chez Decathlonthe Jogflow 500.1 racing shoes for women have increased from $ 42 to $ 30 since May 31, with an $ 60 reference price.
screenshots provided by MOSC
52 days
Chez Best Buythe Flash 6.0 2025 electric scooter of gyrocopters has been $ 2,69.97 since June 22, with a benchmark price barred about $ 800.
screenshots provided by MOSC
False emergency
Decathlon partially confirms these observations. “This product was well sold at the regular price of $ 60 from September 17, 2021 to August 21, 2024,” said Marie-Lou Blais, from Decathlon Canada, about the Jogflow 500.1.
The spokesperson adds that liquidations depend on “each sport and collection”. Best Buy and Simons did not respond to interview requests.
“We rarely know if we have a good deal online,” observes Mathieu Guffens. Without history, $ 60 shoes can be a boon or scam, hence the Belgian need to know if they were $ 30 or $ 90 last year.
MOSC is the passion project of this manager of a computer engineering firm in Liège. He does not get any income from his application built in his living room in order to give users-consumers the chance to monitor the price of online products.
“The evolution of the price changes the vision of the purchase,” says the one who wrote a thesis on the impact of sensory stimuli on the online purchasing process in HEC Liège, in 2012.
Delay and deception
As promotions have no maximum legal duration in Canada, a regulatory vacuum exists. “There are flaws,” says the Belgian, who suggests that “a discount should last max 30 days”.
Federal law requires that a reference price has been made for a “reasonable period” and for a “significant quantity” of sales, which is interpreted as more than 50% of the time or sales.
“Companies must keep the registers necessary to demonstrate compliance with the criteria,” says the competition office, without commenting on the specific cases.
Mathieu Guffens believes that the Jogflow 500.1 at less than $ 60 for 12 months could contravene these requirements, that this balance is “possibly” deceptive. It is at the Competition Office that the right to examine and issues orders to put an end to practice.
Mosc in short
Availability: Free application on Google Play Store and Apple Store
Founder: Mathieu GUFFENS, 37, manager for an engineering firm during the day and Batman prizes in the evening
Blanket: 1500 online retailers, mainly in Belgium and France, with recent addition of 6 Canadian retailers (Best Buy, Decathlon, Simons, Walmart, Sports Experts, Amazon) and others to come
Functioning: When a user adds a product, Mosc follows the evolution of its price with verification every two, three days, with notifications if the price drops, graphics of fluctuation if the price rises.
Online purchases: when the price changes six times per hour
In Quebec as elsewhere, shopping online becomes a speculative act where the price of shoes can change six times per hour.
“Lots of changes in a short time,” observes Mathieu Guffens, in an interview. Last February, the creator of Mosc compared the volatility of online prices to that of cryptocurrencies.
His study reveals that a basket of consumer goods (bikes, washing machine, shoes) won 14% in two months, while a Bitcoins portfolio lost 24% over the same period.
This dynamic pricing is based on algorithms that analyze our habits, our location, and even the battery level of our phone. A Belgian study alleys that Uber displays higher prices when your battery is low, an accusation that the company disputes. Doordash faces a similar prosecution concerning costs increased for iPhone users.
Amazon already changed its prices 2.5 million times a day in 2018, according to Business Insider. The price of your toothbrush is now evolving as fast as the last same.
“What disturbs people is opacity,” said Erin Witte, to consumer the Federation of America, to Vox. Consumers understand that companies want to make profits, but the price calculation process remains “a confused black box”.
In the grocery store, the electronic labels would theoretically allow the price of roasted chicken during rush hours. When Wendy’s mentioned this possibility, in 2024, the negative reactions were instantaneous.
Mathieu Guffens’ suggestion: monitoring prices from Tuesday to Thursday and evening, when demand is less strong. Unlike cryptos, nobody buys their shoes to resell them for profit, but we deserve to know their real price, he said.
