Black Friday at a Beauty Salon and the Omnibus Directive - Promotions Without a Slip-Up [2026]

Autumn is promotion season in beauty salons: holiday packages, first-visit discounts, and at the end of November a Black Friday that has spread from retail into services. Before you post a "manicure -30%" graphic to your stories, though, you should know that announcing price reductions is governed by specific rules introduced by the so-called Omnibus directive. They apply to services too, and to small salons too - and mistakes in promotion messaging can end with an intervention from UOKiK (the Polish consumer protection office) or the Trade Inspection. This article explains the lowest-price-in-30-days rule, shows which campaigns fall under it, and suggests how to prepare a promotion that sells and stays legal. The basic price list duties are covered in our article on salon price list rules.

What the Omnibus directive changed

Since 2023, Polish law has applied one rule: if you announce a price reduction, next to the discount information you must state the lowest price of that product or service from the 30 days before the reduction was introduced. The purpose is simple - to end the artificial "crossing out" of inflated prices that never really applied, and to show the client how much she actually saves.

The 30-day rule in one sentence: with every price reduction announcement, you state the lowest price that applied in your salon during the 30 days before the promotion starts - and that is the price against which the client judges the real size of the discount.

In practice this means the message "gel polish 120 PLN, now 90 PLN" is incomplete if two weeks ago the same service sold in a promotion for 100 PLN. Correct information points to the lowest price from the last 30 days. You can adapt the form to the channel (price list, post, booking page), but the information must be clear and unambiguous.

Which salon campaigns fall under the 30-day rule

Not every marketing action is a "price reduction announcement". The table below sorts out the most common salon scenarios.

Campaign	Does the 30-day rule apply	Comment
"Black Friday: gel polish manicure -30%"	Yes	A classic reduction announcement - state the lowest price from the 30 days before the promotion
A new service at a launch price	No, if you do not refer to a reduction	"Introductory price 99 PLN" without crossed-out prices is not a reduction of an earlier price
A permanent lower price for students or seniors	Usually not	That is a lasting pricing policy for a group, not a temporary reduction - describe it in the price list
An individual discount for a regular client in a loyalty scheme	Usually not	Personalized terms are not a public reduction announcement
A "3 visits for the price of 2" package	Careful - yes, when you communicate it as a reduction	If you calculate and display the saving against regular prices, apply the same rules as for a reduction
Selling products (polishes, conditioners) at a discount	Yes	For goods the rule works the same; online sales add the duties described in our article on selling products through the salon

The most common promotion mistakes in salons

• Artificial crossed-out prices: raising the price two weeks before Black Friday only to "reduce" it back to the pre-rise level. That is exactly the practice the rules target - the lowest price from 30 days exposes the trick immediately.
• A discount calculated from a price that never applied: "-50% off the catalogue price" that no client ever paid is misleading and can be deemed an unfair market practice.
• A promotion only on social media, inconsistent with the price list: the price in the post must match what the client pays in the salon. A gap between the messaging and the till is a straight path to a dispute and a complaint, handled under the rules from our article on beauty service complaints.
• No promotion terms: "while slots last", but nowhere does it say how many there are or when the campaign ends. Short promotion terms (duration, services covered, combining discounts) protect you from grievances and keep the front desk organized.
• Promotional prices outside the records: every discounted service goes through the register just like a regular one - the rules are described in our article on receipts and invoices in the salon.

How to prepare a promotion step by step

• Gather your price history: before announcing a reduction, check what the service really sold for over the last 30 days, including earlier promotions. The lowest price from that list goes into your message.
• Define scope and time: which services, on which dates, whether discounts combine, whether the promotion also covers new clients. Write it down as short campaign terms.
• Prepare consistent materials: the same price and the same rules in the price list, on the website, in the booking system and on social media. When publishing client photos, remember the consents we describe in the article on GDPR in salon social media.
• Keep the documentation: screenshots of the price list from before the promotion, the wording of the announcements, the campaign terms and validity dates. If questions come, you have full proof the messaging was honest.
• Return to regular prices deliberately: another reduction shortly after will again be measured against the lowest price from 30 days - plan your promotion calendar so discounts do not cannibalize each other.

What can happen if a promotion is done wrong

Incorrect information about reductions can be challenged by the Trade Inspection and, in more serious cases, by UOKiK as an infringement of collective consumer interests or an unfair market practice. The consequences depend on the scale and nature of the infringement - from a demand to change practices to financial penalties. For a small salon the reputational side can hurt just as much: a client who works out that the "huge promotion" was fiction will happily share it in reviews. An honestly calculated discount is not only legal compliance but also a sales argument - you show in black and white how much the client saves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the lowest-price-in-30-days rule cover services, or only goods?

The Polish price information rules cover reductions in the prices of goods and services, so a salon announcing a discount on treatments is subject to them just like a shop. In addition, for goods (such as polishes sold in the salon) the same requirements apply as in retail.

The service has been in my offer for less than 30 days - what price do I state?

If you have offered the service for less than 30 days, you state the lowest price from the moment it appeared in your offer until the day the reduction is introduced. Note down the sales start date - it defines the reference period.

Does a "follow our profile" discount or a newsletter code fall under the 30-day rule?

The line runs between a public reduction announcement and an individually addressed benefit. A code sent to a closed newsletter audience is personalized, but a public post saying "-20% for every follower" works as a reduction announcement to the general public. When in doubt, it is safer to state the lowest price from 30 days - you lose nothing by doing so.

Is a gift card or voucher a price reduction?

Selling a voucher at its nominal value is not a reduction of a service price. But if you sell a voucher below nominal ("a 200 PLN voucher for 150 PLN") and advertise it that way, you are communicating a price benefit and should apply the same transparency: clear conditions, a validity date and usage rules written into the campaign terms.