The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) has sided with a complaint against Lovisa South Africa, finding that the jewellery retailer misled consumers by featuring promotional images of products that were not actually available for sale. The ruling was made on 19 June 2025 following a consumer complaint about email marketing content from the brand.
Never in stock
The complainant argued that the featured jewellery items in Lovisa’s newsletter imagery were never in stock and, in some cases, not even part of Lovisa’s product offering. Despite being given an opportunity to respond, the advertiser failed to engage with the ARB process.
The Directorate found that Lovisa's marketing practices were likely to mislead reasonable consumers into believing that the jewellery depicted was available for purchase.
"The Directorate notes that the purpose of marketing emails is to encourage consumers to purchase the items being advertised. It is therefore logical for a consumer to assume that the jewellery that they are being shown in a marketing email is available on the Advertiser's website," read the ruling.
Consistency and transparency
The ARB emphasised that marketing images should correspond with products actually available to consumers, noting that Lovisa’s refusal to clarify or provide supporting links compounded the issue. Although some promotional images had functional links to relevant collections, the overall practice lacked consistency and transparency.
As a result, the ARB instructed its members not to accept the advertising from Lovisa in its current form. While Lovisa is not a member of the ARB and is not bound by its rulings, the decision serves as a directive to members of the advertising industry to reject misleading content and protect consumer trust.
