Roundtable | Consumer protection: in with the new but not out with the old

With consumers waking up every morning to read news of yet another geopolitical crisis, who can blame them for wanting to treat themselves with a bit of retail therapy? And with retailers facing constant threats to their success, from increased input costs to cybersecurity breaches, some can inadvertently fall foul of the law in a bid to secure those additional sales. But at what cost? The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has always seen itself as a protector of consumers' interests. It has recently introduced a new toolkit to do just that and has already put it to use, imposing substantial fines on retailers in breach.

But with new powers to conduct domestic dawn raids and the continued threat of director disqualification, it is essential retailers are still also fully aware of competition law risks.

In this roundtable discussion join Dan Smith, an expert in the new consumer law regime and Rhiannon Pugh, a competition law specialist, to explore:

• What the new consumer protection regime means for retailers and whether it is achieving its aims
• Where the CMA is shining its competition law spotlight in the retail space
• What the main risks are for retailers under both regimes and how you can stay protected