Supermarkets in North Macedonia are now required to publish daily retail prices of products on their websites under recent amendments to the Consumer Protection Law. However, critics say the measure is ineffective and time-consuming for consumers.
The regulation, which came into effect this month, obliges major retail chains to update product prices daily for each individual store within their network. A review of several supermarket websites showed inconsistent implementation—some sites featured searchable tables, while others required users to manually scroll through multiple pages to find price information.
Ljupcho Radevski of the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) said the initiative lacks practical value. “Publishing prices will not benefit citizens if it takes too much time to search through the websites,” he told local media.
The opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) also criticized the measure, describing it as unworkable. “It takes nearly an hour for citizens to compare just one product across all supermarkets. To compare all regularly purchased items, one might need to take a day off work,” the party said in a statement. “This nonsense neither helps reduce prices nor offers real benefits, as we warned from the start. The government chose not to listen.”
Economy Minister Besar Durmishi defended the policy, saying the goal is to improve transparency for consumers. “People have the right to know how they are spending their money,” Durmishi said. He also warned that retailers who fail to comply with the new law could face fines of up to €10,000.
The government says the regulation is part of broader efforts to improve market competition and curb price inflation, although consumer groups argue that more direct measures are needed to reduce the cost of living.
