German court calls Lidl’s “biggest price reduction” misleading

The advertising campaign “Our biggest price reduction ever,” which Lidl launched in Germany in May 2025, was misleading because shoppers could not find the promised 500 price-reduced products in their stores, the court said.

Lidl refuses to release list

In May last year, Lidl attacked its archrival Aldi in Germany with the promise “Now 500 products permanently cheaper.” According to the retailer, it was the biggest price reduction in its history. But the German Consumers’ Association went to court because it was never clear which products were being reduced in price and by what percentage. Moreover, not every store had 500 reduced-price products, because Lidl added regional and national price reductions together.

The Heilbronn court ruled in favor of the consumer association: consumers expect to find 500 products that have been reduced in price in their local branch. The fact that the discounter mentioned this nuance in a footnote is not sufficient: according to the court, consumers would not understand the footnote, even if they noticed it, writes Lebensmittel Zeitung. The consumer association is satisfied with the ruling, while Lidl is still considering whether to appeal. It is noteworthy that the retailer only wanted to submit a list of the 500 reduced-price products if the court would keep it secret.