Article 3 · Definitions

‘consumer’ means any natural person who, in commercial practices covered by this Regulation, is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession;

‘trader’ means any natural or legal person who, in commercial practices covered by this Regulation, is acting for purposes relating to that person’s trade, business, craft or profession and anyone acting in the name of or on behalf of a trader;

‘commercial practice’ means any act, omission, course of conduct or representation, commercial communication including advertising and marketing, by a trader, directly connected with the promotion, sale or supply of a product to consumers;

‘goods’ means goods as defined in Article 2, point (5), of Directive (EU) 2019/771 of the European Parliament and of the Council;

‘product’ means any good or service including immovable property, digital service and digital content, as well as rights and obligations;

‘transactional decision’ means any decision taken by a consumer concerning whether, how and on what terms to purchase, make payment, in whole or in part for, retain, dispose of, or continue using a product or to exercise a contractual right in relation to the product, whether the consumer decides to act or to refrain from acting;

‘to materially distort the economic behaviour of consumers’ means using a commercial practice to appreciably impair the consumer’s ability to make an

‘invitation to purchase’ means a commercial communication which indicates characteristics of the product and the price in a way appropriate to the means of the commercial communication used and thereby enables the consumer to make a purchase;

‘professional diligence’ means the standard of special skill and care which a trader may reasonably be expected to exercise towards consumers, commensurate with honest market practice or the general principle of good faith in the trader’s field of activity;

‘undue influence’ means exploiting a position of power in relation to the consumer so as to apply pressure, even without using or threatening to use physical force, in a way which significantly limits the consumer’s ability to make an informed decision;

‘online interface’ means any software, including a website, part of a website or an application, including a mobile application, that is operated by or on behalf of a trader and serves to give consumers access to products;

‘online marketplace’ means a service using software, including a website, part of a website or an application, operated by or on behalf of a trader which allows consumers to conclude distance contracts with other traders or consumers;

‘free trial’ means a commercial practice whereby a product is offered to the consumer during a set period of time without the obligation to pay through a payment transaction in funds within the meaning of Article 3, point 8 of Regulation (EU) 2027/(..);

‘ranking’ means the relative prominence given to products, as presented, organised or communicated by the trader, irrespective of the technological means used for such presentation, organisation or communication;

‘influencer marketing’ means a commercial practice whereby traders use their popularity among their audience to directly or indirectly promote products in exchange for payment;

‘minor’ or ‘child’ means any natural person under the age of 18;

‘paid-for virtual currencies’ means virtual currencies acquired through payment transactions within the meaning of Article 3, point 8 of Regulation (EU) [Payment Services Regulation] or, where applicable, in exchange for another paid-for virtual currency;

‘paid-for variable reward systems’ means virtual items, other than financial products, offering random rewards or variable odds acquired through payment transactions within the meaning of Article 3, point 8 of Regulation (EU) [Payment Services Regulation] or in exchange for paid-for virtual currencies;

‘pay-to-progress and pay-to-win mechanisms’ means in-game or in-app purchases that are necessary or are presented as necessary for in-game or in-app progress or success, that are acquired through payment transactions within the meaning of Article 3, point 8 of Regulation (EU) [Payment Services Regulation] or in exchange for paid-for virtual currencies;

‘virtual queue’ means a digital feature whereby consumers are placed in a sequenced waiting system prior to accessing the ordering interface, during which time the traders could change the price;

‘automated system’ means software that is capable of carrying out actions and taking decisions producing legal effects for its user, including concluding contracts, without the need for human intervention;

‘certification scheme’ means a third-party verification scheme that certifies that a product, process or business complies with certain requirements, that allows for the use of a corresponding sustainability label, and the terms of which, including its requirements, are publicly available and meet the following criteria:

‘consumable’ means any component of a good that is used up recurrently and that needs to be replaced or replenished for the good to function as intended;

‘durability’ means durability as defined in Article 2, point (13), of Directive (EU) 2019/771;

‘environmental claim’ means any message or representation which is not mandatory under Union or national law, in any form, including text, pictorial, graphic or symbolic representation, such as labels, brand names, company names or product names, in the context of a commercial communication, and which states or implies that a product, product category, brand or trader has a positive or zero impact on the environment or is less damaging to the environment than other products, product categories, brands or traders, or has improved its impact over time;

‘generic environmental claim’ means any environmental claim made in written or oral form, including through audiovisual media, that is not included on a sustainability label and where the specification of the claim is not provided in clear and prominent terms on the same medium;

‘recognised excellent environmental performance’ means environmental performance compliant with Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 or with national or regional EN ISO 14024 type I ecolabelling schemes officially recognised in the Member States, or top environmental performance in accordance with other applicable Union law;

‘functionality’ means functionality as defined in Article 2, point (9), of Directive (EU) 2019/771;

‘software update’ means an update that is necessary to keep goods with digital elements, digital content and digital services in conformity in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/770 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Directive (EU) 2019/771, including a security update, or a functionality update;

‘sustainability label’ means any voluntary trust mark, quality mark or equivalent, either public or private, that aims to set apart and promote a product, a process or a business by reference to its environmental or social characteristics, or both, and excludes any mandatory label required under Union or national law;

‘regulated profession’ means a professional activity or a group of professional activities, access to which or the pursuit of which, or one of the modes of pursuing which, is conditional, directly or indirectly, upon possession of specific professional qualifications, pursuant to laws, regulations or administrative provisions;

‘code of conduct’ means an agreement or set of rules not imposed by law, regulation or administrative provision of a Member State which defines the behaviour of traders who undertake to be bound by the code in relation to one or more particular commercial practices or business sectors;

‘code owner’ means any entity, including a trader or group of traders, which is responsible for the formulation and revision of a code of conduct and/or for monitoring compliance with the code by those who have undertaken to be bound by it;

‘durable medium’ means durable medium as defined in Article 2(10) of Directive 2011/83/EU.