Regulation of the Day 103: When Products Are on Sale

Two states have regulations for when stores can say their products are on sale. The Boston Globe editorializes:

This is a perfect example of a problem that the market can sort out on its own. If there’s one thing 21st century shoppers don’t lack, it’s information. The task of determining whether a “sale’’ is really a sale is best left to comparison-shopping consumers, not the authorities. And given the popularity of websites dedicated to nothing but price-watching and -comparing, doing so is easier than it has ever been. If a store offers an obviously phony promotion, it will be duly punished by its customers. The state needn’t pile on.

(Hat tip to Jonathan Moore)