What effect will GDPR have on fashion industry and online fashion retailers and wholesalers?
With an enforcement date of May 25, 2018, the GDPR is designed to unify data privacy requirements across the European Union (EU). If you market to or process the information of end users, customers and employees you need to learn how to address these key requirements.
Under the new regulation, Australian organisations that offer products or services to consumers in Europe will need to adhere to the new requirements or risk the issuance of heavy fines (up to 20 million Euros!).
Here are some tips for you to make your website GDPR compliant.
User Confirmation
GDPR empowers Europeans to control exactly how their data is used.
For example, GDPR says, “Silence, pre-ticked boxes or inactivity should not constitute consent.”
The heart of GDPR compliance is protecting people’s data. So, you can limit your exposure by not collecting data that you don’t need.
Transparency
Regulators in charge of GDPR compliance love transparency. You could put an “unsubscribe” link on your website next to “subscribe.” You could link directly to your terms and conditions from your footer. And your privacy policy.
Your Selling Point
European consumers want to feel comfortable about GDPR compliance issues before making a purchase or engaging with a brand. That’s why websites ranging from supermarkets to news outlets make such a big deal about GDPR-related topics like cookies and data privacy.
You can leverage these attitudes to grow your ecommerce business. Let people know that you are GDPR compliant. Make GDPR compliance part of your Terms and Conditions page. Put it in the footer of your emails.
MailChimp
MailChimp, the world’s leading email tool for small businesses, has made repeated references to GDPR compliance.
Shopify
If your shop runs on Shopify, don’t worry. Shopify now even has a section in its user manual specifically tackling GDPR topics.
Magento
Magento is providing documentation to all merchants to clearly lay out what personal information is stored by the Magento Commerce application and where that personal information is stored to assist merchants in addressing these individual rights requests. However, Merchants should engage their own legal counsel to help them understand what they must do to be compliant with the GDPR.
In case you are using Extensions in Magento, you must consider the data usage policies and behaviours of any extensions you use. Starting May 25th, Magento will require all Extension sellers on the Magento Marketplace to provide their privacy policies.
In Summery
You can help your online store with GDPR compliance by making sure your terms and conditions are clear; removing pre-ticked boxes; and generally respecting the privacy of your customers and potential customers.
Drop a line to info@nichefashion.com.au today, we can also help you to make your website GDPR compliant. It’s a huge opportunity: customers will like you more if you are GDPR compliant and It might be a big selling point especially in the European market.
