Marketers, take note: The Washington State Attorney General just ruled that “last chance” sales with no real deadline aren’t just sleazy—they’re deceptive advertising. GAP Inc. (Old Navy) learned that the hard way. This case sets a powerful legal precedent: If your countdown timers, fake scarcity claims, or endless “final sale” subject lines are BS, you could violate consumer protection laws. This isn’t just a slap on the wrist. It’s a signal that state regulators are ready to crack down on the dark patterns we’ve normalized in ecommerce and CRM.
I recently spoke with Allan Levy, founder and CEO of Alchemy Worx, to explore the true implications of that Old Navy case. It served as a starting point to ask a bigger question: Can marketers still create urgency, engagement, and conversions without resorting to deception?
READ MORE
Since 2001, Alchemy Worx has provided a full-service solution, with best-in-class email marketing, paid social, and SMS support, to e-commerce and enterprise-level companies. Our data-driven, test and learn approach has helped clients with online sales ranging from $2M to multi-billions, to scale audiences with powerful results.
