An online Australian florist has admitted to duping customers into believing they were buying fresh flowers from local businesses.
Customers ordering through Lily's Florist were made to believe it was a local business in more than 1000 Australian suburbs, but the online company outsourced to third-party florists to fulfil its orders.
It used more than 1500 different webpages and Google ads to mislead customers, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said.
United Florists Pty Ltd, which operates Lily's Florist, has given a court-enforceable undertaking to the watchdog to have its directors complete compliance training.
Elysium Marketing Pty Ltd, which is the trustee for the owner of Lily's Florist's business name and website, has made the same undertaking.
They both admitted Lily's Florist made misleading representations to customers.
The online florist marketed itself as "your local flower delivery service".
"Statements that mislead consumers into thinking they're dealing with a small business in a local area unfairly diverts business away from legitimate local businesses," watchdog commissioner Liza Carver said.
"Businesses seeking to boost their online presence by targeting particular locations in their marketing strategy must be transparent about how their business operates and where they are actually located."
Another company, Fig & Bloom Pty Ltd, has taken down potentially misleading representations from 940 webpages that could have made customers believe it was a local business in a specific suburb.
The company had its flowers assembled and delivered from one of three warehouses, which were often a fair way away from the suburb, the watchdog said.
"Consumers may seek out local providers in the hope of receiving fresher flowers or to support businesses in their neighbourhood," Ms Carver said.
"Misleading representations about the nature of a florist deprives consumers of the ability to make informed choices about their orders."
Lily's Florist cooperated with the watchdog's investigation and has removed misleading statements from its webpages.
Lily's Florist and Fig & Bloom have been contacted for comment.
