Increasingly widespread internet access and the ever-increasing number of web users are leading some retail businesses to choose to sell online in addition to operating brick-and-mortar stores. Potential customers are enticed by the prospect of shopping without leaving home.
Because setting up an online store isn't particularly complicated, new entrepreneurs often choose to run their business solely online. Thanks to the constantly evolving e-commerce landscape, anyone can begin their online sales journey on their own, or with a little help from an IT specialist.
Today's post is for those who want to know what documents are necessary for the founder of an online store to function in accordance with applicable law.
Statute
First of all, it's important to remember that an online store must have terms and conditions. They are one of the most important documents among the entire list of necessary documents. Shopping in an online store cannot begin without the user's acceptance of them.
The regulations should include:
- purchasing rules,
- issues related to the delivery of purchased goods to the customer,
- rules regarding withdrawal from the contract, returns and complaints,
- information about products available in the store,
- rules for maintaining an account on the website,
- description of the ordering and payment procedure.
At this point, it's important to avoid copying terms and conditions from websites and using templates from unverified sources. Sellers may incur costs related to including a clause in their terms and conditions that violates the collective interests of consumers, or by including a provision that the entrepreneur should not include because it is unfavorable or unnecessary. It's worth remembering that the provisions in the terms and conditions should be tailored to the business the entrepreneur conducts.
Privacy Policy
The second document necessary for the proper functioning of an online store is the privacy policy. It serves to inform store users about the principles and scope of processing their personal data and their rights. It must include information about the controller of the registering user's personal data, as well as information about how and for what purpose the data is collected and processed.
The document should also meet the information obligation regarding the rights of the user whose data is processed for the purposes of using the online store's services.
Cookies
The next document is information for the user about:
• types of cookies used on the store's website,
• possibilities and methods of disabling these files in the web browser.
At this point, I think it's worth reminding what these popular "cookies" actually are, something almost everyone who has ever registered on any website has heard of. Cookies are responsible for, among other things, remembering login details and shopping cart contents. Furthermore, they enable the IT system to remember user preferences and personalize websites with the content and advertisements displayed. The document informing about the use of these cookies should also include the option to disable this feature, which, however, may prevent you from using the store's functionalities.
Checkboxes
In addition to the required documents above, acceptance of which is required to use the online store's services, so-called checkboxes also play an important role. These are well-known fields, acceptance of which is required in the final phase of registration on almost every website. From the perspective of the founder of an online store, it is important to remember that the appropriate wording of the checkboxes is extremely important. First and foremost, a prerequisite for creating an account in an online store is acceptance of its terms and conditions. Furthermore, approval of the privacy policy and a statement stating that the customer has been informed of the right to withdraw personal data provided at any time and the right to rectify, delete, and limit the processing of this data. Additionally, through the checkbox, the user can be "offered" a newsletter service and receive commercial information related to the store's offerings.
It should also be remembered that during sales, each user who has made a purchase in the online store will receive confirmation of the conclusion of the sales contract by e-mail to the e-mail address provided during registration, as the obligation to send such confirmation is directly imposed by Article 21 of the Act of 30 May 2014 on consumer rights.
The last key technical aspect is that after logging in to the website, the user is displayed a message with an information clause within the scope of Articles 13 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (OJ EU L 2016, No. 119) regarding the processing of personal data, with the option of clicking the "I understand and accept" box.
Taking into account both Polish and European Union legislation, all the above-described documents, information and checkboxes are necessary to run an online store in accordance with the law. Once we have them prepared, we can start selling online.
This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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