Business practices in South Africa during Covid 19 that impact consumers' economic means

Abstract

Objective – COVID-19 brought about devastating economic consequences across the globe. The outbreak and spread of this disease, coupled with supply-side constraints, led to sudden increases in prices by some businesses that managed to access products. Methodology/Technique - This paper outlines a qualitative analysis of consumer protection cases filed between April 2020 and March 2021 at the National Consumer Tribunal of South Africa. Consumer protection agencies play a central role in ensuring consumers' welfare, which is more accentuated in times of the Covid 19 pandemic and its aftermath. Findings – Results of the analysis of the contents of the cases show that South African consumer protection agencies acted with agility in line with their regulatory responsibilities. The cases examined in the study indicated that due to the relatively few cases able to be adjudicated, the National Consumer Tribunal had limited opportunity to contribute to the deeper consideration of the definitional development of the preventative intentions of the law in this regard. However, the Tribunal applied its mind to the definition of unfair pricing to respect consumers' rights in this regard. Novelty - The work of the Tribunal in interpreting necessary consumer rights to fair, reasonable, and just pricing is thus a lasting contribution to ensuring the realisation of these rights. In cases where businesses that were found to have not complied with the Regulations and were found to have engaged in prohibitive conduct and duly fined, it sends a strong message to businesses that the violation of consumer rights will not be tolerated, even in complex circumstances such as during the Covid 19 pandemic. Type of Paper: Empirical/ Review JEL Classification: M38; M20 Keywords: Business practices during Covid pandemic; consumer protection policy; consumer rights; price gouging; Tribunal adjudication Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Best, L. (2022). Business practices in South Africa during Covid 19 that impact consumers' economic means, J. Mgt. Mkt. Review, 7(3), 98 – 106. https://doi.org/10.35609/jmmr.2022.7.3(2)