§8.2 Temporary changes

123. Providers should determine on a case-by-case basis whether modifications to their ranking mechanisms, including those of a temporary nature, result in a change to the ‘main parameters’ and necessitate a change to the descriptions thereof to ensure compliance with Article 5. 124. Providers should not assume that the temporary nature of changes made to parameters, weighting or other features of ranking necessarily means that the description of the main parameters does not need to be changed. For example, one-off events such as sporting events may come with significantly increased consumer demand, which may lead to temporary changes to the main parameters that determine ranking. The same applies to promotional events like ‘Black Friday’, holiday seasons, or seasonal sales periods such as pre-Christmas. When providers alter their ‘standard’ ranking methods in such cases, for example, by giving more weight to certain parameters (e.g. ‘delivery speed’, ‘price’ or other notions such as ‘brand appeal’ or ‘quality’, possibly combining several factors), adding new ones or suppressing some, and these modifications affect the main parameters, providers should adapt the description thereof. 125. It may also be good practice for providers to try and capture in their description of the main ranking parameters any ‘regular’ dynamic features of their ranking mechanisms. The fact that these are a ‘regular’ feature can mean they are a ‘main parameter’ or a reason for the main parameters’ relative importance. For example, a provider of an online e-commerce marketplace may wish to structurally increase the weighting of the ‘price’ parameter during a specific recurring sales event.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07