CMA Tells Online Sellers: Show Delivery Fees in the Price Up Front

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) wrote an open letter to online retailers on 2 November, reminding them that a price shown to customers must include any delivery fee they cannot avoid. The letter, published on GOV.UK, says it is timed to the run-up to Christmas shopping.

The CMA says some businesses still present delivery charges in ways that do not comply with the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Where a customer must pay delivery to buy something, it says, the total price including the minimum mandatory delivery charge has to be shown throughout the sales process. That covers adverts, product pages, baskets, checkout and payment pages. The CMA's own phrasing is that the first price customers see should be the price they pay.

It lists what it is looking out for: a product price that leaves out mandatory delivery, basket totals that do not include it, optional delivery fees tucked behind links, pop-outs or drop-down menus, and delivery charges that only appear late in checkout. It adds that it may use its enforcement powers where non-compliance continues, and says it has already enforced the drip pricing rules against four businesses, with fines of more than £5.1 million in total.

What it means if you sell online

If you post goods, whether you are a baker, a candle maker or a small shop, check your own pages the way a customer would. Put something in the basket and look at what price is shown at each step. If delivery is a flat charge you cannot avoid, the CMA says the price must include it, though you can also show the product price without delivery alongside it. If delivery is optional, say plainly on the page that a charge applies, rather than leaving it in a menu.

Quote-based work is a separate question, covered in our guide on showing the full price on your website. The CMA's letter points businesses to its own price transparency guidance, which is the place to check a particular set-up. This is a regulator's letter, not legal advice. If you want help with the website side, our guides are free to read, or get in touch.

The full guide: Do You Have to Show the Full Price on Your Website?