Coolblue's delivery promise was ruled misleading seven times — it took the eighth to stop

For years Coolblue, one of the biggest electronics retailers in the Netherlands and Belgium, sold itself on a promise: order before 23:59 and your purchase arrives tomorrow, free of charge. It was the backbone of the brand's marketing. The problem was that the promise could not consistently be kept — and the Advertising Code Committee said so, again and again.

Seven times over recent years the RCC examined Coolblue's delivery promise and ruled it misleading, each time without the retailer adjusting it. In spring 2026 the Consumentenbond, the Dutch consumers' association, escalated with a formal complaint. The RCC ruled the unconditional next-day promise misleading and unfair: a webshop may only promise what it can actually deliver.

This time the slogan went. In late July 2026 Coolblue confirmed it had scrapped the promise that orders placed before 23:59 would arrive the next day for free. The Consumentenbond used the outcome to press a wider point: when a webshop misses a promised delivery window, consumers can reclaim the delivery costs — even when delivery was advertised as free.