CATrends: Emails Offering Free Gifts

You don’t need to be a beauty influencer to get free gifts, according to marketing emails from some cosmetic companies.

But what the subject lines of these enticing free gift emails often omit, according to a recent spate of lawsuits identified by our class-action tracker, is that recipients must make a minimum qualifying purchase in order to receive the “free” gift.

Since October, nine lawsuits have been filed against companies over their alleged deceptive email marketing of free gifts, with seven of the complaints filed against cosmetic companies.

For example, a lawsuit filed against L’Oréal cites an email its Lancôme brand sent consumers with the subject line, “Ooh la la! Your FREE 5-Piece Gift Awaits + 25% OFF.” However, in order to obtain the “free” gift, consumers would have had to spend a minimum of $120, the lawsuit alleges.

According to the complaints, minimum purchase requirements are disclosed in the body of the emails (often in the fine print), which is at odds with FTC guidelines concerning the use of “free” offers. These federal guidelines state that:

When making “Free” or similar offers all the terms, conditions and obligations upon which receipt and retention of the “Free” item are contingent should be set forth clearly and conspicuously at the outset of the offer so as to leave no reasonable probability that the terms of the offer might be misunderstood.

Another beauty brand, Ulta, is currently the subject of five class-action complaints regarding its free gift emails. In addition to misleading consumers about the terms of its free gift offers, one of the lawsuits against Ulta accuses the company of using deceptive subject lines that create a false sense of urgency around its promotions to induce recipients to open emails.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed against Kylie Cosmetics over its misleading free gift emails notes that the company “understands how to restrict an offer in the subject line,” pointing to an email it sent consumers titled “Free Holiday Ornament with any $40+ purchase.”

The two non-cosmetic companies facing lawsuits over their free gift promotions are Tommy Bahama and Lane Bryant.

All of the complaints are pending.

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