United Kingdom · CAP Code · promotional sales
Clearance and end-of-line sale claims on UK landing pages — CAP literacy
Clearance hubs, “end of line”, “last chance”, and closing-down banners sit beside was/now modules and countdown timers. Published CAP and ASA materials treat sale claims as substantiation and clarity questions — not only design. This guide is claim-register habit for UK marketers: inventory the headline, the reference price, and how long the “clearance” has been live. Not ASA clearance, not legal advice.
Where clearance claims appear
- Dedicated /clearance or /sale URLs — category tiles with strikethrough pricing.
- Homepage hero modules — “Everything must go”, “Warehouse clearance”, “End of line”. Often paired with a countdown timer.
- PDP badges — “Clearance” or “Reduced to clear” beside price.
- Email and paid social crops — deep-link to sale landing pages; inventory the destination URL.
Published CAP themes (literacy only)
Reference pricing on sale pages
ASA/CAP AdviceOnline on pricing and promotional savings materials discuss:
- Was/now and RRP comparisons — the reference price must have been genuinely available. See was/now pricing claims.
- “Clearance” running year-round — if the same SKUs stay on “clearance” indefinitely, the urgency and savings narrative may not match consumer takeaway.
- End-of-line and limited stock — objective claims about discontinuation or remaining stock need substantiation under CAP Code 3.7.
Urgency and contradiction (rule 3.9)
Absolute lines (“lowest ever price”, “everything reduced”) alongside footnotes that exclude categories or restore higher prices can raise rule 3.9 literacy — qualifications must not contradict the headline. Same habit as free delivery claims.
Claim-register habit
- Copy the sale headline — clearance, end-of-line, closing-down, must-go.
- Log each was/now line on the same module — reference price and saving percentage.
- Note duration — when the clearance page first went live; seasonal vs permanent.
- Flag stock / discontinuation evidence — SKU lists, supplier letters, inventory reports.
- Pair with timer modules if present — inventory both rows.
Use the agency claim-register template. Run a free scan to surface sale-shaped lines on the live URL.
What CiteBefore does — and does not do
Clear limits
- Not ASA clearance and not a substitute for ASA Copy Advice.
- Not legal advice on pricing law or consumer contracts.
- Not a complaint coach — we do not tell you to report an ad to the ASA.
- CiteBefore inventories claims and suggests evidence columns to hold before publish.
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FAQ
Can I run a permanent clearance page?
Published ASA materials discuss clearance claims that run indefinitely or where reference prices were not genuinely offered. Inventory duration and was/now support — see was/now pricing guide.
Does end-of-line need stock evidence?
End-of-line and limited-stock claims are substantiation questions under CAP 3.7. Log the claim and evidence your team holds. CiteBefore suggests columns; it does not clear the claim.
Does CiteBefore clear clearance sale copy?
No. CiteBefore inventories claims on live URLs. It is not ASA clearance, not Copy Advice, and not legal advice.
Related guides
Informational only. Author: Ellis Greensitt. datePublished 2026-09-24. Not ASA clearance.