What is the DMCCA?
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) is a major UK law passed in May 2024 that reforms how digital markets, competition, and consumer protection are regulated.
It is a wide-ranging piece of legislation designed to:
- Regulate powerful digital companies (especially large tech platforms)
- Strengthen competition rules
- Improve consumer protection and enforcement
Essentially, the DMCCA is intended to make markets fairer, particularly in the digital economy.
How does the DMCCA apply in marketing?
For marketers, the DMCCA represents a step change – introducing widespread amendments to competition law and consumer law enforcement in the UK.
The DMCCA applies to any business that advertises, markets, sells, or promotes products and services to UK consumers, and applies to the entire customer journey, from initial advertising through to purchase and ongoing subscriptions.
The aim of the DMCCA is to improve fairness and transparency in digital markets, focusing on:
- Pricing transparency and upfront cost clarity
- Subscription terms and auto-renewals
- Consumer rights in digital purchases
- Online reviews and authenticity
- Misleading or aggressive advertising practices
This means ensuring all promotional content is clear, accurate, and not misleading, particularly around pricing structures such as drip pricing or hidden fees.
Embedding DMCCA principles into marketing helps businesses:
- Build long-term consumer trust
- Reduce regulatory risk
- Strengthen brand reputation
- Improve transparency across all campaigns
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) now have stronger enforcement powers to act against non-compliant businesses.
While some of elements of the legislation are already being enforced, there are still more parts being introduced.
Why was the DMCCA introduced?
The DMCCA was introduced to modernise UK consumer protection laws in response to the rapid growth of e-commerce, subscription services, and digital advertising.
Studies show that a significant proportion of online shoppers abandon their purchase when unexpected costs are added at checkout, with around 39% of cart abandonment attributed to additional costs such as shipping, taxes, or fees.
Regulators identified several recurring issues in digital markets, including:
- Hidden or unexpected fees
- Misleading pricing structures
- Fake or manipulated online reviews
- Difficult cancellation processes
- Unclear subscription terms and auto-renewals
The goal of the legislation is to ensure consumers can make informed decisions and businesses compete on a fair and transparent basis.
Who does the DMCCA apply to?
The DMCCA applies to any business marketing or selling to UK consumers, regardless of size or sector.
This includes:
- Digital marketing agencies
- E-commerce brands
- Retailers
- Subscription-based businesses
If your business is involved in advertising, pricing, promotions, memberships, or online sales, DMCCA compliance is essential. Compliance is the legal responsibility of the business/organisation that is being promoted, however marketing agencies should assume responsibility for their client’s compliance.
What are the main compliance requirements?
The DMCCA introduces stricter expectations around transparency and fairness in commercial practices.
Businesses must ensure:
- Clear pricing transparency with no hidden mandatory fees
- Upfront disclosure of total costs wherever possible
- Transparent subscription terms, including renewal conditions
- Honest and verifiable customer reviews used in marketing
- Fair cancellation processes that are easy for consumers to complete
- No misleading urgency tactics, such as fake countdown timers or pressure-based messaging
The key principle is simple: consumers must always understand exactly what they are paying for, when they are paying it, and what they are committing to.
How does the DMCCA affect the advertisement of memberships and subscriptions?
Subscription contract reforms are one of the main changes being introduced – aiming to tackle ‘subscription traps’, or situations where consumers unintentionally end up paying ongoing fees or struggle to cancel.
This element of the legislation is expected to be enforced from Spring 2027, but expectations are already clear from draft rules and consultations.
How do I display admin or joining fees in membership advertising?
For businesses selling memberships or subscriptions, key terms such as the price, renewal timing and minimum contract term, must be clearly presented so customers fully understand what they’re signing up to before committing.
Rolling Contracts
For rolling contracts, any joining or admin fee should be included in the total first payment shown to the customer.
Example:
“£55 for your first month, then £30 per month thereafter”
You can also clarify that the first payment includes a joining fee to improve transparency.
Fixed-Term Contracts
For fixed-term contracts (also referred to as minimum term contracts in CMA guidance), businesses must ensure all costs are clearly visible upfront.
You may either:
Show the total cost over the full contract term, or break down monthly payments clearly, including all mandatory fees.
The key requirement is that consumers must not encounter unexpected costs during checkout or onboarding.
What are organisations now required to do during a contract?
Businesses will now be required to send reminders to customers before key points, such as at the end of a free trial or renewal after a fixed-term contract. Therefore, systems will need to be implemented to email or message members before renewal and to flag upcoming billing events. ‘Silent renewals’ will no longer be compliant.
Additionally, the ability to cancel a contract needs to be as easy as signing-up. ‘Cooling-off rights’ will also strengthen, with consumers getting 14 days after initial sign-up to cancel, and another 14-day cooling-off period when a contract renews, for example following a free trial or at the end of a fixed-term contract.
How Bigwave can help with DMCCA compliance
At Bigwave, we help businesses ensure their marketing and advertising practices align with evolving consumer protection regulations.
We can support with:
- Creating impactful marketing campaigns that adhere to new legislation
- Auditing existing customer journeys to ensure compliance
- The set-up of automated messages to remind customers of key points within a contracted period
The DMCCA represents a major shift in how businesses must approach digital marketing, pricing transparency, and consumer communication.
For marketers, the priority is simple: clarity, honesty, and transparency at every stage of the customer journey.