Price Comparison Claims Made by Big Box Retailer

Analysis Group was retained by Manatt Phelps on behalf of a major discount chain in a proceeding conducted by the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB). The case concerned a national advertising campaign in which the company had made claims regarding the superiority of its prices, and the amount the average customer could save by regularly shopping at its retail outlets. A regional competitor retained a leading management consulting firm to investigate the discounter's claims, and the firm found that the claims were unsubstantiated.

Our affiliate, Professor Robert Blattberg of Carnegie Mellon and emeritus at Northwestern University, an expert in retail and database marketing, evaluated the statistical analysis conducted on behalf of the plaintiff and testified at the NAD hearing. He found that the plaintiff's analysis relied on flawed sampling techniques and did not account for meaningful differences in the prices associated with substitute products provided uniquely by the discounter. Managing Principal Christopher Borek led the Analysis Group team that supported Professor Blattberg.