Legal Considerations
Most countries have specific legislation that governs e-commerce practices or websites in general. This section provides some general guidelines, however, you are responsible and must ensure that the storefronts you set up meet the legal requirements of the country or regions it operates in.
Terms & Conditions
Depending on local legislation, the following information may need to be provided on the Terms & Conditions page. For private stores the requirements may be less stringent than for public business-to-consumer stores. See “Add/edit legal information (Legal tab)” for details on how to create this content.
Company specific information
•The name of the service provider: When the trading name is not the same as the real name of the company, this should be explained.
•Physical address
•E-mail address
•Registration number: In some countries the place of registration should also be stated.
•VAT number or sales tax information
Privacy policy
StoreFront uses a number of features that may concern the privacy of storefront visitors. Disclaimers should be included on the storefronts to notify visitors about these features.
The Users tab in StoreCenter has an option to export a list of users to an Excel file. This feature was added to allow companies to use the data in other applications, such as for instance an e-mail marketing program. Even though you may consider sending all customers an e-mail to be a service, legally this can be seen as spam. Most countries have very strict legislation regarding the use of such e-mails. Make sure you are working within the legal framework of your country.
Complaints procedure
You may need to explain how buyers can report an issue with their purchase and indicate the time frame for receiving a response.
Right of withdrawal/Return policy
Consumers in many countries, and particularly in EU member states, have the right to withdraw from certain online purchases and return goods within a certain period. Traders may need to provide shoppers with a model withdrawal form. Certain products are excluded from this rule (e.g. personalized goods) so it may only apply to stock products and not to customized products such as business cards.
See also the EU Consumer Rights Directive on distance selling (e.g. internet).
Trade and Professional Associations
If the print service provider is a member of a trade or professional association, membership details should be provided on the Terms & Conditions page. It may be a good idea to become a member of a local e-commerce trade association or at least check the recommendations on their web site. For countries in the European Union, a list of such organizations and quality labels can be found on the EMOTA website.
Cookies
Cookies are text files that are saved on a user’s computer each time the user visits your website. The websites you create with StoreFront use persistent cookies to collect information which is essential to the correct functioning of the website. For example, a cookie is used to collect data about the products a shopper adds to the shopping cart. If such a cookie could not be used, the shopper would have to remember all the products he put in his cart. You do not have to inform shoppers that these essential cookies are being used.
However, in some countries, e.g. the countries of the European Union, you are required to inform visitors of your website about non-essential cookies, such as the Google Analytics cookies, which StoreFront allows you to add to your website.
To comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) cookie regulations, a blocking pop-up window appears (when the cookie check is enabled), allowing the user to accept all cookies or only essential cookies. The user must select one of the following options to continue using the StoreFront website:
•Allow essential cookies: accept only essential cookies.
•Allow all: accept all cookies.
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If it is legally required and you are using cookies for non-essential services, you can add a link in the footer of your storefront pages to your cookies acceptance page, or a banner that appears at the bottom of each storefront page. See “Add/edit legal information (Legal tab)” for more information on creating a cookies acceptance page or banner.
Shopper Notifications
Legislation may require that a shopper is informed automatically about a purchase by e-mail or post. StoreFront sends an e-mail automatically for each order.
Product Information
Some countries require that products on sale are clearly described to the shopper. StoreFront has a description field that can be used for this.
GDPR
For information on StoreFront compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, see the ECO3 website.
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