The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (“CCS”) has intensified its enforcement focus on deceptive online retail practices by taking action against three online retailers, Boarding Gate, Origin Sleep, and Light In The Box, for using misleading digital tactics designed to pressure consumers into making purchases. In an official media release issued on 18 May 2026, CCS stated that the retailers used fabricated visitor counts, false scarcity indicators, misleading countdown timers, and inaccurate discount claims to create artificial urgency and consumer demand.
According to CCS findings, Boarding Gate displayed randomly generated messages suggesting high consumer interest and active shopping cart activity despite lacking supporting evidence. Origin Sleep implemented similar practices, including countdown timers and “limited time” promotional campaigns that continued for extended periods under different marketing themes. CCS was alerted to Light In The Box’s conduct by a European regulator, demonstrating how these misleading practices can span multiple countries. Light In The Box displayed “Almost sold out” notices even though its business model relied primarily on made to order procurement with minimal standing inventory. CCS also found that certain advertised discounts were benchmarked against reference prices that had never actually been offered to consumers, creating false impressions of savings.
Importantly, CCS emphasised that companies remain fully responsible for compliance with Singapore consumer protection laws even when website templates, plugins, or digital marketing tools are sourced from external service providers or third-party vendors. All three retailers have since provided formal undertakings to cease the practices and avoid future unfair trade conduct.
This latest enforcement action reflects Singapore’s growing regulatory scrutiny over digital commerce practices and highlights increasing expectations for transparency, substantiation of marketing claims, and ethical online consumer engagement. Businesses operating in digital commerce environments should proactively review their online marketing practices, promotional claims, and website design features to ensure regulatory compliance. Organisations are also encouraged to strengthen governance over third party vendors, conduct regular compliance reviews, maintain substantiation for advertising claims, and provide adequate compliance training to commercial and marketing teams as global scrutiny over “dark patterns” and manipulative e commerce practices continue to increase.
Kindly refer to the following press release from CCS: