Dufresne's countdown timers kept selling after zero — Canada fined it $3.25M

The Dufresne Group runs furniture and appliance retail across Western Canada under the Dufresne Furniture and Appliances banner and certain Ashley HomeStores. The Bureau concluded its products carried inflated regular prices, then went out at big discounts advertised as significant savings — on the websites, in stores and across its advertising. The savings were not real; the anchor was.

The second deception was time itself. Dufresne marketed deals as limited-time offers with countdown clocks, creating the impression they would vanish at zero. In at least one instance the deal remained available after the timer expired. On 27 September 2023 TDG and its affiliates signed a consent agreement: a $3.25 million penalty plus $100,000 toward the Bureau's costs, compliant marketing practices and a corporate compliance program.

The case put a number on the countdown timer as a dark pattern: urgency that does not expire is a lie about scarcity. Commissioner Matthew Boswell's standard: tactics that pressure consumers to buy quickly, like limited-time offers, must be truthful.