Years ago, people visited supermarkets to shop for groceries. Today, the story is different. People now order goods online and even get them delivered to their locations. Shopping on online marketplaces doesn’t go through if customers do not share a bit of their personal information.
These pieces of information must be adequately guarded and handled with caution. Since online stores are required to maintain the privacy of their customers’ data, that means the issue of data protection is critical and does not exclude them.
This article will discuss what the law expects from e-commerce stores regarding data privacy and how they can protect consumer data.
Data Privacy Demands from E-Commerce Stores
Consumer data plays a huge role in the success of online shops. Remarketing to customers would be impossible without data. These data should stay safe with e-commerce stores. Let us briefly discuss what the law wants your e-commerce store to do to keep its customers’ data private.
1. Disclosure
You might ask, is a privacy policy, required by the law? Yes, and an e-commerce store should have one. Your online shop should be transparent. It is hideous to deceive customers to get information. Your privacy policy must reflect what kind of data you collect from your customers, how you use them, and if you will share them.
In addition, remember to add the mode of communicating privacy policy changes with your customers. Would you send it to their emails or put it as a notice on your website? Let them know this and how the adjustment will affect them.
Include in your store’s privacy policy how it will react to the ‘do not track’ requests in its customers’ browsers. Please do not infringe on customers’ rights or invade their privacy by omitting important. Ensure to add the data from which your privacy policy becomes effective.
Moreover, mention in your privacy statement if you keep a record of a user’s browser history to personalize content for advertising purposes and improve browsing. Similarly, indicate if you collect a buyer’s IP (Internet Protocol) address and register their website logins.
2. Clarity
The ultimate goal of a privacy policy is not to present customers with many technical and legal terms that are difficult to comprehend. Remove technical and legal jargon from your privacy. Break down your privacy agreement into uncomplicated terms.
Simplifying your confidentiality clause will help customers assimilate quickly what right your e-business store gives them the freedom to exercise.
3. Minimizing Data
The law requires your online shop to limit what data it collects from shoppers. Retrieved data should be equivalent to the purpose of collection. Whether provided knowingly or retrieved automatically, collect shoppers’ data without being extra.
Determine what personal information is enough. This information could be names, birthdays, financial details, contact details, etc.
4. CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity, & Availability)
The CIA is pivotal to customers’ data privacy. Your e-commerce store’s data protection officer (DPO) should ensure data confidentiality by preventing unapproved access to information.
To maintain the integrity of shoppers’ data, the DPO should check against altering data. Integrity guarantees data accuracy and completeness. Data should also be available to authorized personnel promptly.
How E-Commerce Stores can Protect Consumer Data
Data protection is an unavoidable aspect of consumer data. If data are collected, they need security. How can your e-commerce store protect consumer data? We answer that question below.
1. Internal Control
Every Tom, Dick, & Harry in your organization shouldn’t have access to consumer data and systems that store them. The DPO and a few other authorized people should. Remember that most threats to data security generate internally.
Besides, check systems, software, applications for updates, vulnerabilities, intrusion, etc.
2. Invest in Web Security
Investing in security is never a waste. So, do not hold back from securing your website. Use an SSL certificate to encrypt data and verify user identity. Likewise, use a 2SV (two-step verification) to verify identities in two layers. Asides from providing usernames and passwords, an extra layer is required to provide a security code. The SSL & 2SV will protect users while on your website.
3. Enlighten Customers
Some customers can be calm towards their security online. As a company they trust and want to transact with, there is the tendency that they will listen to you.
If your website is safe or your company has a formidable data security system, it is not enough. They should contribute to your store’s security strength by doing what is right.
Encourage shoppers to create strong passwords, ignore messages asking them to send their financial information, etc. Also, show them how to recognize fishy conduct on your website, so they can report them to you.
E-commerce stores cannot get away from the privacy law provisions. They must invest in data security and show their customers what to do to stay safe. With our help at Zendata, you can shut out cybercriminals & secure your online store. Kindly reach out to us today.