{"id":11737,"date":"2018-03-14T11:16:45","date_gmt":"2018-03-14T11:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.repricerexpress.com\/?p=11737"},"modified":"2020-09-24T12:23:16","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T11:23:16","slug":"gdpr-for-ecommerce-sellers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.repricerexpress.com\/gdpr-for-ecommerce-sellers\/","title":{"rendered":"GDPR for Ecommerce Sellers"},"content":{"rendered":"

By 25 May 2018, ecommerce sellers will have another EU regulation on their hands, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). To learn how it\u2019ll impact your business and what you can do to prepare for it, read on…<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The GDPR in a Nutshell<\/h2>\n

Essentially, this is a new data privacy law, the most comprehensive one to date. (Here<\/a> is where you can dig into all the details about it). But the summary of it is this: data collection on your customers must be stored securely, be opt-in only, be used only with their consent, and be made available to them if they request it. The aim is to make things more transparent to users, and to introduce new fines on sellers who breach the GDPR. If you use your customers\u2019 data for things like marketing and advertising, read on because this will likely affect you.<\/p>\n

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What Actually Qualifies as Data<\/h2>\n

\u2019Data\u2019 can cover a pretty broad range of topics, but it typically involves anything that\u2019s tied to them. For example, an account created on their site or an email used to purchase things would be considered data, as would things like their payment info, past purchases and shipping address(es). It even includes things like IP addresses, even though they don\u2019t identify actual people.<\/p>\n

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The Impact This Will Have on Your Business<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s say one of your customers emails you for their data. Under the GDPR, you have one month to provide them with that information. Before, the Subject Access Request (SAR) meant they\u2019d have to pay money for that, but not anymore. Now, they have the right to ask for that for free and get it.<\/p>\n

And if they decide they want to stop shopping with you and don\u2019t want you to hang onto their data for whatever purposes you might be using it for, you\u2019re obliged to delete it and inform them.<\/p>\n

Sounds pretty straightforward, right? It\u2019ll require a bit of extra work for you, but it\u2019s manageable. But have you thought about all the different hands that touch your customers\u2019 data? What about courier services or shipping companies who have data like your customers\u2019 names and addresses? What protocols do they have in place to comply with the GDPR?<\/p>\n

Things get a little more tricky with that, but it\u2019s important to comply. Failure to do so could result in fines of up to \u20ac20 million or 4 percent of annual turnover from the previous year, whichever is greater.<\/p>\n

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If You Think You\u2019re Not Covered By the GDPR<\/h2>\n

Some sellers reading this will think, \u2018Ah, that\u2019s alright. I don\u2019t live in America, so this doesn\u2019t apply to me.\u2019 But that might not be entirely correct. If you collect the data of anyone living<\/em> in the EU, you need to comply with the GDPR. Brexit makes things a bit trickier, so starting now will give you more time to sort things out.<\/p>\n

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Steps You Can Take to Get Ready<\/h2>\n