SINGAPORE, Dec 8 — Singapore’s competition regulator has found that Courts misled online shoppers by automatically adding extra items to their carts without consent.

The findings, reported by Mothership, came after the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) investigated the electronics and furniture retailer following a consumer complaint.

In a statement released today, the Commission said Courts’ website had, during certain promotional periods, inserted products into customers’ shopping carts even when they had not chosen those items.

“During certain promotion periods, Courts’ website automatically added certain items to consumers’ carts without seeking their consent.”

It cited an example where an Acer vacuum cleaner was placed in a shopper’s cart after the customer selected an Apple iPad. 

While the pop-up window confirmed only the iPad, the additional item appeared faded in the background and was not clearly visible. 

The cart total also did not immediately reflect the price of the vacuum, which was later shown as a “promotional item”.

According to CCCS, the design placed customers at risk of paying for products they did not intend to buy. 

It added that automatically added free gifts were not an issue, as shoppers were not charged for those.

The regulator also noted that despite receiving complaints about the feature as early as 2024, Courts did not disable it until CCCS intervened in June 2025.

Courts has since committed to removing the function and offering refunds to affected customers, though it did not disclose the total refund amount.